Types of Christ
Adam:- the first man was a wonderful type of Christ, Who was the second Man and last Adam - Who was made sin for the bride, that God chose for Him. Eve:- who was taken from the side of Adam – what an astonishing type of the Church - Eve who was bone of His bone, and who became one with her Bridegroom.
What is needed isnot that they should die again, but that they should come toaccept their once-for-all death in Christ in relation to whateverthat may be that has come up, and let it go and be set free fromthat law of sin and death.
Jesus paid the price for sin and He broke the power of sin when He died on the cross.
John the Baptist was calling Israelites to repent of their sins because their Messiah-King was moving in and out among them, for the kingdom of God was very near.
They had been disobedient children, but now they must turn from their sin to Christ. John gave this testimony: “I saw the Holy Spirit descending like a dove from heaven and resting upon Him.
He was willing to stand in the place of you and me – for although He was God’s sinless Son, He was able to sympathise with each of us, in all our struggle with sin – in every single way.
a man made in His image and likeness. God wants a man to communicate His thoughts and character to a dying world in sin: and God made man in His own image to have dominion and to rule His earth Genesis 1:26.
But a man that entirely reflects God’s moral nature – to God’s own satisfaction. A corporate man after God’s own heart – walking in loving obedience… A body, communicating His perfect character to a dying world in sin. And the goal of that corporate body is, “Christ in you - the hope of glory.”
Living by faith which comes from hearing and not by sight or signs or dreams – putting off the old man in Adam and putting on the new man in Christ – recognising our heavenly home is a greater reality that this sin-sick, cursed world. Many such writings have been on waiting – waiting God’s time and waiting God’s way.
Confession of Sins
Paul is not saying: examine yourself to see if you are saved….
We are to confess our sins – for if we confess our sins, God is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:
Consequences of Sin
We are fallen beings and we live in a fallen world, and so day by day and moment by moment, we need to examine ourselves..
We need to confess our sins and He is faithful and just to forgive them.
When sins are introduced there is a fear that God has changed.
‘For this is my blood of the new testament which is shed for many for the remission of sins’.
An Unchanging Love
'But if your sins are not met there, where can they be met?
‘Now where remission of sin is, there is no more offering for sin’ (Hebrews 10:18).
All the punishment and pain for all sin and all the power of sin is finished: completed.
and to Him. If remission of sins were only for those who had not sinned or if His forgiveness were only for the righteous, where would be the need of a Saviour?
New mercies, each returning day,Hover around us while we pray;New perils past, new sins forgiven,New thoughts of God, new hopes of heaven.
Looking to Jesus
Therefore, we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
How similar to the wicked workings of today’s satanically driven world, yet the accumulating wickedness of our sin-sick world, greatly exceeds Habakkuk’s day.
Without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.Hebrews 9:22
Blood of Jesus
We read that it was “neither by the blood of goats or calves, but by His own blood that Jesus entered in once into the holy place – having obtained eternal redemption for us. The blood of Jesus did not cover for our sins.
Final Sacrifice
In past times the blood of bulls and goats atoned for man’s sin – it covered man’s sins.
The innocent blood of animals was to cover sin until the final sacrifice was offered. Christ’s blood did not simply cover our sins – it removed them right away! But HOW and WHY did we need a perfect, innocent human sacrifice for our sins?
Inherited Sin
Well, when Adam sinned against God his very being was infused with sin – a sin nature.
Adam’s sin - his sin nature was passed on to all people, so sin is inherent in all men.
This inherent inclination to sin is passed down the generations, and no one is exempt. We all have inherited sin.
We all have a sin nature – “the old man” as Paul often calls it.
Imputed Sin
We are also sinners because of the sins that we commit.
These sins are imputed to us. The sins we commit are credited to our account, so to speak – because we have sinned! But both inherited sin from Adam and the sins imputed to us – are all worthy of death. Death is the outcome for our inherited sin nature and the many sins that we all commit.
Meaning of Death
The wages of sin is death and the meaning of death in scripture is SEPARATION.
Sin’s reward for spiritual death is separation from God - separation from all that’s good.
The sinner’s greatest need is for forgiveness of sins – and God alone can forgive sins.
Kinsman-Redeemer
But God had planned a unique way that all sinners could be forgiven of their sins., but it meant that the eternal Son of God would become a perfect human being so that He could be made a sacrifice for sin – a substitute for man – a kinsman-redeemer.
Life is in the blood and without the shedding of blood, there is NO forgiveness of sins.
The Perfect Man
Only God’s eternal Son was good enough to pay the incredible price for humanities sin, but God is Spirit and without the shedding of human blood – is no forgiveness of sins. He had to lay aside His glory, leave His heavenly abode and become the Son of Man. And so at God’s appointed time Jesus was born – as the innocent and perfect Man. Only the blood of an innocent and perfect Man was sufficient to pay the price for sin.
Son of Man
The wages of sin is death – i.e.
separation from God forever and only the shed blood of the Son of Man could have paid for our sin – and only the resurrection of the Son of Man would give us newness of life – a new life in Christ – a new creation in Christ.
It was ONLY the humanity of Christ that qualified Him to die – for only as Son of Man did He have the blood pulsing through His veins that was to be shed for humanities sin.
Adam chose to become sin for his bride, but God already had a plan.
Adam passed on to his progeny the old sin nature that rages in every man, and Adam learned that blood must be spilled for redemption to be achieved, and God had a plan.
Still with the old Adamic sin nature, God continued His purpose through Israel.
Jesus would only return to set up His kingdom when Israel repented of their sins, acknowledged their offense, and called on His name: for I tell you, you will not see me again, until you say, ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord.’ Matthew 23:39
He came preaching in the wilderness of Judea: repent of your sins and turn to God, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near. Matthew 3:1-2
The times of refreshing had arrived – all Israel needed to do to repent of their sins – to repent of the nations' apostasy – to turn back to God – to accept her King.
He was the Lamb of God Who takes away the sin of the world – the Passover Lamb – and with many signs and wonders, He confirmed His credentials as Israel’s Messiah.
Whether big or small sins, many or few – the verdict remains the same – we are all sinners and so it is impossible to reach the mark of perfection God requires.
Without His saving grace, we would remain dead in trespasses and sin – but thanks be to God, Who gives us the victory over sin and death – in Christ.
Redeemed by Faith
We started out dead in trespasses and sins, but Christ redeemed us by faith, in Him.
Condemned by God
If God were to deal with us as sinners He would convict us of sin.
God convicts all men of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment.
John 16:8 1) of sin..
for we all deserve judgement - for the wages of sin is death.
Convicted of Sin
Were God dealing with us as sinners, the Spirit would use the law as a schoolmaster, for the Law is a schoolmaster to bring us to Christ, and we all fall short of God’s law. The law exposes our sins and contrasts it with the sinlessness of the Lord Jesus:- personal sins, faults and transgressions, filth and foulness would be our fallen focus. He would convict us of sin, of righteousness and judgment.
The judgement we deserve was poured out over Christ, Who bore our sins, and we have been declared righteous by God, and because He is righteous, we are the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus.
Past present and future sins are forgiven, forgotten, and flung into the fathomless sea..
and 1 John 1:9 reminds believers to confess any sins we commit in our lives: for if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins.
Forgiveness and Fellowship
Although all our past, present, and future sins were forever forgiven at the cross God can never look on any sin – even a believer’s post-salvation sins.
Sins we commit after salvation are forever forgiven but break our fellowship with Him.
When we confess those sins, we return immediately into communion with the Father.
He would use the law to convict us of sin, of righteousness, and of judgement.
Growing In Grace - STUDY
But thank God that, although you used to be slaves of sin, you obeyed from the heart that pattern of teaching you were taught, and having been liberated from sin, you became enslaved to righteousness.Romans 6:17-18
Man is born with an old sin-nature, which means he is physically alive but spiritually dead.
In Ephesians 2 Paul tells us that everyone is born dead in their sins, which means they are physically alive but spiritually dead.
It means that the essence of their being is rooted in an old sin-nature.
the unbeliever, who is dead in his sin, and he reminds the Roman believers that they were like this before they were saved.
He looks back to their pre-salvation life and reminds them: at one time you also were servants and slaves of sin.
Before salvation they were enslaved by the old sin-nature – they were in bondage to sin and slaves of sin, but after salvation, they were given a new nature and became servants of Christ – with a new life and a born-again spirit.
Sins or Sin-Nature
Sin in this verse does not refer to the actual acts of sinning, which are specific sins we actually commit, whether in the body or mind.
Sin is anything we do that is performed in our own strength and apart from God.
The word 'sin' in Romans 6 refers to the inner being of man – the old sin-nature within man, that everyone inherits from Adam.
An unbeliever has only one way to function – through the old sin-nature, which makes every human being a servant to sin and incapable of pleasing God.
Slaves of Righteousness
But Paul reminds the Christians in Rome that although they used to be slaves of sin and serve the sin-nature they were born with, they believed the gospel of grace, trusted Christ and obeyed from the heart.
They paid attention to the new spirit of Christ they received at rebirth, which set them free from slavery to sin and made them slaves to righteousness.
We have been set from sin and from serving the fleshly old sin-nature because we are born from above.
Now we are servants of the new nature in Christ rather than the old sin-nature, and these verses contrast an unbeliever’s former relationship as slaves of sin with a believer’s new relationship to their new life-in-Christ, which we all receive at salvation and which has made us all servants of righteousness.
Death or Life
A slave of sin functions through the old sin-nature, while a slave of righteousness functions through the new life in Christ.
A servant of sin relates to the old sin-nature, while a servant of righteousness relates to the new life in Christ.
The old sin-nature is in servitude to sin and functions under the law of sin and death, while the new life in Christ is in servitude to righteousness and functions under the law of Christ – the Spirit of life.
Law of Sin and Death
The unbeliever can only function as a slave of sin, which is automatically and uniquely under the law of sin and death from physical birth.
Whether an unbeliever does good works or evil actions – whether he shows kindnesses or behaves wickedly, all he does emanates from the old sin-nature.
The unbeliever is dead in sins (i.e.
he has no relationship to God) but he is alive to sin (i.e.
he functions under the law of sin).
The believer is dead TO sins (i.e.
Law or Grace
The believer has only two ways to function – either as a slave to sin or as a servant of Christ.
A believer has two choices – he can either submit to the evil enticements of the sin-nature, or he lives his life through the new life in Christ.
And the believer is empowered to live his life this way, by virtue of what Christ did on the cross – because we are now free from sin.
at salvation, connection with the sin-nature was severed, but sin’s influence remains throughout our life.
Although severed, the sin-nature doesn’t disappear when an unbeliever is saved, although as believers we are empowered to function apart from it.
The sin-nature does not cease its demands on a believer when he receives his new nature.
The connection with the sin-nature is severed but the influence of the sin-nature remains throughout our life.
However, the more we starve sin by submitting to the new life in Christ, the more our new nature will grow.
The spirit makes demands because we are now servants of righteousness, but the severed sin-nature also makes demands, by enticing us back into slavery to sin.
A believer should respond to the spirit but may respond to the sin-nature – often causing inner conflict and confusion.
Opposing Forces
The lust of the flesh does not refer to any physical activity of sin, (which is the fruit of sin). It refers to the inner nature and origin of sin, (which is the root of sin).
Jesus had to be like His brothers in every way, so that He could become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people.Hebrews 2:17
He had to be made like them, fully human in every way, in order that He might become a merciful and faithful High Priest in service to God, and that He might make atonement for the sins of the people.
The Cross has separated us from the power of sin (Rom. 6:11), the old man (Rom. 6:6), the world (Gal. 6:14), the law (Rom. 7:4), and the devil (Heb. 2:14).
The lack I find in souls is, that while they know that their sins are forgiven, they do not know their new place.
The growth and consolidation of one's spiritual life is predicated upon clear knowledge of the dual facts of Romans 6:11 - dead unto sin; alive unto God.
Unchangable Acceptance
God’s love never changes, His truth never alters, His acceptance never ceases. His love for you does not depend on your attributes and your achievements. His acceptance of me is not influenced by my foibles and lack – my silly traits. His truth is the same forever. His truth is the same for everyone of His own. He is not influenced by our efforts or our qualities. He doesn’t”t change towards us due to our inadequacies or outbursts. Many presume that their lack, inadequacies and the remembrances of old sins requires repeatedly renewal of acceptance with God.. lest He withdraws His acceptance of them and withholds His love from them. But God never alters.
You are accepted in the Beloved. “Pity me – I have failed, I have not loved; I have not trusted as I should.. I have allowed sin to influence me and the flesh to rule my thoughts today!” God never changes.
Sin, Fellowship, and Acceptance
Sin may certainly affect close fellowship with the Lord. Evil doing and ungodly attitudes – may stem your intimate communion with Him, but God never changes.
From God to Man
The Holy Spirit always reasons down from what God is, and this produces a total change in my soul. It is not that I abhor my sins; indeed I may have been walking very well… but it is ‘I abhor myself. Until the soul comes to that point He does not give it peace – He cannot for it would be healing the wound slightly. The soul has to go on until it finds there is nothing to rest on – but the abstract goodness of God; and then, ‘If God be for us, who can be against us?'”
It is futile for us to attempt to curb our sins while we ignore their source, the indwelling principle of sin.
In trimming the branches (sins), we strengthen the root (self).
You parted with your sins, but you kept yourself.
What next, Lord?’ ‘Now you pass to another sphere where you become aware that you are joined to Me as your life.’” “Our identification with Christ in His death was a death unto Sin-the principle of Sin as a master and a tyrant-Sin, not sins.
The Holy Spirit is ready to apply that finished work of death to the depth of our self-life, until Sin loses its mastery at point after point.
As our substitute, Jesus paid the price for our sins alone.
As our substitute, Jesus suffered the penalty for our sins alone.
As our substitute, we are forgiven from the penalty of sin through Him – alone.
It is grateful for the forgiveness of sins with the penalty of sins paid in full.
Our Representative
As our representative we went to the cross with Him – together. As our representative our old-man was crucified together with Jesus. As our representative our old, Adamic self and sin-nature died together with Him. As our representative He took us to the cross and we are in Him Who is the last Adam.
As our representative, Christ has delivered us from the power or sin.
Death no longer has dominion over Christ, for the death that Christ died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God – likewise, you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Sin and Dead Works
Sin causes a break in the fellowship with God as does living the law-works-merit way, but it has nothing to do with our eternal security.
Petitions which identifies itself with the SINS of God’s people - Prayers which also identify with the PLANS outlined in God’s Word – Supplications that reach right into the HEART of God’s will and purpose.
The saving of men from sin,death, and hell, and getting them to heaven, was as nothingcompared with what Paul saw as to the significance of a believernow.
And thus it makes the one in whom it operates free from the law of sin and death.' It gives the consciousness that divine goodness is an unfailing resource for our hearts, and that all the treasures of that goodness are stored up in Christ Jesus, that we may learn them there, and find the life of our spirits in the growing knowledge of Him. -C.A.C.
The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus' made me free from the law of sin and death' - not the life,' but the Spirit of life,' - not our effort, but divine strength; not self-occupation, but occupation with Him in whom we are before the Father, and in whom the divine favor rests upon us full and constant, because on Him it rests. -F.W.G.
The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death' (Rom. 8:2).
It shows what He has done, (by paying the price for sin and breaking the power of sin and death) And so, I want to I want share one more example of this Amazing Grace..
Living in sin?Feeling the effects of our sin?No hope?No future?No promise of eternal life?In condemnation?
for us, for our sins so that we may be forgiven and reconciled to Him, with the promise of eternal life.
Yet Father God’s grace was sufficient for me, it covered all my past, my sins, my hurts – and assured me of a sure, and certain hope for my future.
Father God removed the scales from my eyes, He caused me to see:- I saw the pit of sin I was in..
My Testimony
When I gave my life to Jesus during the Billy Graham crusade event in Chesterfield in 1984, I remember being blown away by the fact that not only had my sins been forgiven and I had the assurance of eternal life but I had a direct line to Father God.
What a friend we have in Jesus ALL our sins and griefs’ to bear What a privilege to carry EVERYTHING to God in prayer
The clearest evidence I see of Father God’s Grace abounding in Jesus’ life is in the run-up to His death on the cross, in particular when He said ‘Forgive them, Father, for they know not what they do’! Not only was He willing to die that horrible death on the cross for their sins and ours, but by His Father’s Grace, He was also able to forgive them, then and there – as He was crucified.
In dying on that cross our Lord Jesus Christ, as He had promised, reconciled us to Father God in the forgiveness of our sins and the assurance of eternal life with Him and His Father – and the promise that He was leaving His Holy Spirit with us to live in us and amongst us until we die or until He returns.
Loving Words
As she stood in anguish and pain, gazing at her dying son, a sword indeed pierced through her own aching soul, leaving her heart bloodied and bruised, and probably bereft of hope. Despite the sins of all humanity that weighed so heavily upon the shoulders of our blessed Lord; despite the bitter pain, affliction and anguish He bore, for your transgressions and for mine, He saw His own dear mother, in her deep and gaping grief, and His own breaking heart of compassion reached out, in love, to her.
An Eternal Love
At His tender age of thirty-three, He bore the accumulated pain and grief of all humanity. His was not the anguish of a typical, three-score years and ten lifespan. His was the excruciating heartache and bitter torment, meted out and endured by ALL through history. He did not suffer affliction at the hand of God for a few brief hours on the Cross as some seem to imply. His pain spanned the culmination of every single filthy, foul, disgusting sin. His pain spans 7000 years of sin that the world has ever amassed.
And this is only a secret for the believer, for the natural man is dead in sins.
First, God leaves the choice of believing in Him to the unsaved individual: believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved from your sins..
Do not neglect so great salvation. Do not fall short of the promised rest. Be careful not to be slothful, or stand still who fall away. Do not sin wilfully or draw back to perdition and don’t ignore the important sanctification process.
We are to give up our self-efforts after likeness to Him; we are to distrust our own strength as much as we distrust our own weakness and our own sin; and instead of striving to live like the Lord Jesus, let Him live through us, as He greatly desires to do.
The Lord Jesus on the Cross removed the barriers which separated me from God - my guilt, my sin, the law; and He dealt with my enemies - the world, the flesh, the devil.
When Israel confessed their sins, they returned and renewed fellowship with Him.
Fixed Factual Truth
Murmurings and complaints develop a lack of trust in the truth of God’s word. Feelings or circumstances paint a false picture of our relationship with God, but fellowship with God rests on confessing our sins and believing His Word – fellowship counts on God’s word as a fixed factual truth.
Lasting peace will come when we rest in Calvary's conquest of sin and self, and allow that victory to be applied by the faithful Spirit of God.The Holy Spirit does not reason from what man is for God, but from what God is to man.
It is not that I abhor my sins; indeed I may have been walking very well; but it is I abhor myself.' The Holy Spirit shows us what we are, and that is one reason why He often seems to be very hard and does not give peace to the soul, as we are not relieved until we frankly, from our hearts, acknowledge what we are.
Man’s 2 Natures
As children of God we were given a new life in Christ – a baby life that needs to grow. Our life should be a fruitful, victorious life that matures into a spiritual believer – a life submitted to the Spirit, so it may be conformed into the image and likeness of Jesus. But we still have a sin nature that seeks to gain supremacy over our new Christ-life. We were freed from its power over us, at the cross, but it remains our deadly enemy.
Old Nature and New Life
The old sin nature we received from Adam is at enmity with God and kept us in bondage and condemnation, but it was crucified with Christ, and its power was severed at the cross – freeing us forever from the bondage of sin and death.This new life in Christ is His sinless life – which was imparted into our very beings. The old sin nature is our terrible Adamic heritage – which keeps us in bondage to sin. Unsaved men can only function under the power of the old sin nature, and whatever they do, whether good or ill, is worthy of nothing more than God’s utter condemnation.
New Life in Christ
The new life in Christ should be nurtured, while the old sin nature must be subdued, and though all Christians are positionally sanctified, (set apart unto God), we must also grow in our Christian life to be practically sanctified – and it’s all by grace. Whether we are talking about our sanctified position or the sanctifying process that continues throughout life – our spiritual growth, our growing in grace, our maturing in the faith and the good works that God has prepared for us to do, are ALL by grace.
To put off the old sin nature, we have to make a choice, not to allow sin to rule and reign in our lives – rather we must seek to walk in spirit and truth, as we submit to the leading of the Spirit.
In this way the new life in Christ will have a chance to grow and mature, and gradually be conformed into the image and likeness of the Lord Jesus. If we ignore the clear guidance in scripture on how to live a spiritual life, that’s pleasing to God, and submit to the old sin nature, we place ourselves back under the bondage of law.
Put on the New
Let us put to death the deeds of the body, so our new life in Christ can grow: for the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and death. Let us not copy the behaviours and customs of this world, but rather let us submit to the Spirit, so that God can transform us into a new person..
1) BEHOLD, the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the worldJohn 1:29
First: Behold the Lamb of God Who taketh away the sin of the world.
Worthy is the Lamb who was slain for our sins. Then simply: Behold the Lamb of God!
Future Judge
Today we wait in this sin-sick, dying world, where evil is being filled up to its fullness.
We are to act as watchmen warning a sin-sick world that the Lamb will soon return.
BEHOLD…
We are to be His voice crying in the wilderness: BEHOLD : The Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world, Prepare ye the way of the Lord. BEHOLD the Lamb of God.
Little did Pilate understand the deep pathos of his eternally shattering words: Behold, The Man – Behold the Son of God, Who taketh away the sin of the world.
Died for All
Christ died for the sin of the whole world which means that every man and woman who has ever lived has had their sins forgive!
No-one is condemned because of their sin, because Christ died for the sins of ALL. Those who don’t trust in Christ’s work on the cross have chosen to exclude themselves from the free gift of grace, that has been offered to them by their Creator God.
Although Christ died for the sin of the whole world, not every member of the human race partakes of the amazing grace of God... simply because they do not believe in Him.
Grace and Truth
Grace and truth came to the world, for Christ died for the sin of the whole world, so that every man has been forgiven of their sins.
Gospel Teaching
Some consider that unless a sinner believes in the Lord Jesus Christ, and in addition, goes through the process of repenting of all their sins – they are not properly saved. Many believers are told by certain teachers and preachers that unless they repent of every sin they have ever committed – then they cannot be properly forgiven by God. But this goes against the teachings of both John – the beloved disciple of the Lord and the apostle Paul, who was called as God’s special witness to the gentile nations.
Should we not repent of our sins? Indeed, we should ‘repent’ of our sins, but repentance has to be understood as being an integral part of believing on the Lord Jesus Christ – and not an addition to faith.
Finished Work
When anything other than believing on the Lord Jesus Christ is added to the finished work of the cross, it means that Christ’s sacrifice at Calvary was insufficient – and the only way to resolve this issue is to apply the correct meaning to the word – repent. Remember – the correct meaning ‘repent’ – is to ‘change…’ We must not use the incorrect meaning of the word’ repent’, which is often taught as going through a process of listing all our sins – as an addition to believing on Christ.
True Repentance
In the process of turning to Christ – obviously we TURN FROM our sins. In the process of turning to Christ – unquestionably we REPENT of sins. An integral part of believing on the Lord Jesus must include scriptural repentance… a change of mind..
Work of Christ
If we don’t repent or change our mind – we remain dead in our trespasses and sins. When we do repent or change our mind about God’s free gift of grace, that is offered to all sinners who are dead in trespasses and sins we are born again.. and the Holy Spirit places us in Christ as part of God’s family – FOREVER. Let us never add to the amazing work of Christ on the cross when by His blood alone He paid the price for your sins and mine. But rather let us simply accept God’s free gift of grace – by faith alone.
It is perhaps the most alarming symptom of decay to be seen amongst evangelical believers today, that so many have accepted (at any rate mentally) the fact that they cannot be justified before God except by the sacrifice for sin once made for all upon Calvary, proceed to build a new legal code by which to live, and seek to be sanctified by their own efforts and endeavors.
In me, He takes notice of every fault that is not righteousness; but the testimony to us is, Their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more' (Heb. 8:12).
Seeker-Friendly
In this sin-sick world sincerity, love and truth are becoming very sparse. It has infiltrated Christendom with a seeker-friendly gospel. It has spread between brothers in the faith as they try to appease each other. It has penetrated truth in relationships when one won't risk upsetting another.
Humility is born from the Supreme Good – LOVE. Humility is the Garment of Grace. Humility is the Adornment of the Heart. Humility requires us to submit to the Spirit to search out our Secret Sins.
His faith is not so strong and unwavering as he imagined; the ardor of his love soon vanishes; the power of sin, which at first he fancied was utterly broken, makes itself felt again, prayer becomes languid, and joy seems to have taken flight.
The world has no power to still the troubled conscience of the scarlet sinner, but the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world bore our sins: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.
He alone forgives our sins – He forgave ALL our sins at Calvary’s Cross, and day by day he continues to forgive and forgive and forgive… If as a blood-bought believer we confess our sin.. in thought, word, deed and motive..
in what we have done and what we have left undone – He is faithful and just to forgive us our sin and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 1John 1:9
He builds up anew with holiness and beauty the loveliness that sin destroyed.
Only innocent blood can be placed between sin’s consequences and a holy God.
Each divinely convicted sinner knows death and judgment are sin’s inevitable reward. Nothing but the spilt blood of Another can alter that destiny and can accomplish life.
But now that you have been set free from the tyranny of Sin, and have become the bondservants of God, you have your reward in being made holy (Rom. 6:22, Wey.).
When the believer truly sees Calvary he says, There, through the work of the Cross, I died with the Lord Jesus unto sin.
Here are the two mighty pillars of our freedom from the power and domination of sin.
He is freed from condemnation because of the Blood shed, and he is set free from the law of sin and death by the indwelling Spirit that he received when he came to the Lord Jesus.
The law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death' (Rom. 8:2). ...hath made me free....' Let me walk in it; let me enjoy it, and I am free.
Difficulties and trials are inevitable as we travel through life, but how important for Christians to understand the cause of sin, the effects of sin, the consequences of sin and how to live godly in Christ Jesus.
Victory of Defeat
We all delight in the wonderful news that all our sins have been forgiven, past present and future, and rightly so – but new believers should also be trained up in the Christian life and understand about post-salvation sins, and all to often they can affect our relationship to God and our fellowship with Him.
A Sin Check
Suffering and pain is indeed a reality but sin is also a reality in a believer’s life.
And although the power sin has been severed in our life, and we have been given a new live in Christ, believers still commit sins and although forgiven through the blood of the Lamb, often have consequences to face.
How important to know that sin in the life of a believer has consequences and how to address them
A Consequences Check
Are my sins not properly forgiven as a believer?
Yes, every last one of them, but every sin brings with it consequences.
A believers’ sin of fornication is forgiven, but the result may be aids or a baby.
A believers’ sin of ‘murder’ is forgiven, but a consequence may be prison.
A believers’ sin of stealing is forgiven, but may result in the loss of a friend’s trust, but most serious of all is that any sin in our life puts us out of fellowship with the Father – eternally saved but devoid of communion with God.
Humble in Confession
We all need to face the truth that sin and suffering is a part of this fallen world and Christians are not exempt.
When suffering is a consequence of our own sin – we should go immediately, boldly and yet humbly to the throne of grace and confess our faults, knowing that God is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, to cleanse us of our unrighteousness and to return us into fellowship with Himself.
God in His wisdom knew that man would sin and that man would need a saviour – and in His eternal council chambers God purposed that Christ would be all in all.
God’s Justice
God in His justice purposed that sin must be punished and the wages of sin is death. But God in His grace so loved the world that He sent His only begotten Son, to die... so that Christ would identify with man and become the propitiation for our sins – so that all Who believed on His name would not perish but have everlasting life.
He made us pure and holy, and He freed us from sin. 1Corinthians 1:30 God in His grace chose us to be in union with Christ and in fellowship with Himself – not because of our own merit but by His amazing and eternal grace, and God chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before Him – in love.
Adam one sin brings condemnation for everyone, but Christ one act of righteousness brings a right relationship with God and new life for everyone. (Romans 5:18 NLT)
without which redemption would be impossible. Unless the Creator of the Universe had deigned to make Himself as nothing, by taking on Himself the form of a servant and being born in the likeness of men – we’d remain dead in our sins.
Humanity of Christ
It was only the humanity of Christ that qualified Him to be the redeemer of mankind. The angels could not redeem man for angels are a different species – a different kind. God could not die for humanities sin for God is immortal and eternal – He cannot die.
Wages of Sin
Only a perfect member of the human race was equipped to become man’s Redeemer. The requirement for humanities “kinsman redeemer” was a perfect Man : a sinless life. Adam was made in the image and likeness of God – the created son of the Father, but Adam sinned and lost his inheritance – He forfeited his ruler-ship of the earth. The wages of Adam’s sin were death – death for humanity and separation from God, so death passed to all men, for that all have sinned – and all mankind was condemned.
High Priest
And there is even MORE- Jesus had to be like His brothers in every way, so that He could become a merciful and faithful High Priest in service to God, to make propitiation for the sins of His people. What grace that God should send His only begotten Son to be our kinsman-redeemer. What grace that the eternal Son of God should set aside His deity to be born as man and clothe Himself in human flesh – so that we could be redeemed by His blood.
Know ye not that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are whom ye obey, whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness? (Rom. 6:16).
Satan usually uses the flesh, the old sin-nature, self..
James Ussher
Usher put it this way: The believer can never overcome the old man even by the power of the new, apart from the death of Christ, and therefore the death of Christ unto sin is indispensable.
Can you lay sin to God's charge, to God's account?
It was God in Christ, the absolutely and altogether holy One in whom there was no sin, who came in incarnation; and in virtue of that Divine nature in its perfection Satan in his authority is defeated - on that ground.
In regard to the external Cross, the obvious fact is that Christ died for our sins.
The death of the Lord Jesus was not only an atonement for sins, but a triumph over sin.
By faith we see our sins not only on His head for our pardon, but sin under His feet for our deliverance.
Multitudes who glory in the outward Cross know nothing of that inward crucifixion which it has also made possible, whereby they are delivered from the power of self and sin, the world, the flesh, and the devil.
That they do not know: That their old man was crucified with him, that the body of sin might be done away, so that they should no longer be in bondage to sin' (Rom. 6:6). -G.M.
We are not only to take by faith the fact that the Lord Jesus died for us to pay the price and penalty of our sins, but we are to appropriate by faith the fact that He also took us to the Cross with Him.
In Christ, God put to death our old man that we might be delivered from the power and dominion of sin in our lives.
You were set free from the tyranny of sin (Rom. 6:18, Wey.).
this Spirit-led introspection, is the secret of the holy life of many of His saints. No excuses for sins are permitted in the pure presence of the Lord. And while He graciously understands all extenuating circumstances..
This will not only result in avoiding outward sin which can mar our testimony, but will prevent us from entertaining the inward sins, which so easily ensnares us:- lack of faith as well as jealousy, pride, bitterness, lust, un-forgiveness, fear.
Inner Cleansing
Let us permit this scriptural self-examination in our lives. Let us submit to His examination of the inward parts. Let us consent to Him exposing each secret sin. Let us seek an inner cleansing and sanctification. Let us draw near to Him with a true heart.
“Let us walk in the light as He is in the light, so that we may have fellowship one with another, knowing that the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanses us from all sin.” 1John 1:7 – and so that He may be glorified in our bodies.
And that means that God sees us as perfect – just as Christ Jesus is perfect, for He looks at us through Christ, Who has removed all sins, wherein He hath made us accepted in the Beloved.
Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered, Blessed is the man against whom the LORD counts no iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit.Psalm 32:1-2
If we confess our sins God is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.1 John 1:9
First, we must recognise that sin has consequences.
One of the most serious consequences of sin, is loss of fellowship with the Lord.
Psalm 32 describes the consequences of being out of fellowship with God, due to sin.
This passage clearly indicates David’s application of 1John.1:9 – confession of sins.
We read: blessed is he whose transgression (sin) is forgiven; blessed is the man to whom the LORD does not impute iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit.
Walk in the Light
This is very descriptive of a Christian that maintains fellowship with the Lord: if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship… 1 John 1:7 and, if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.1 John 1:9.
At first, David chose not to maintain fellowship with God, refusing to confess his sins.
David may be a man after God’s own heart, by faith – but like us, he needed to confess his sins.
Then David at last – after many days, months and maybe years – met God on God’s terms: I acknowledged my sin to You, we read, and my iniquity I have not hidden.
David’s Confession
David simply acknowledged his sin before God and named his transgressions – he confessed.
And then we read: You forgave the iniquity of my sin.
once a Christian recognises that sin, in action and attitude is a barrier to God..
Examine Ourselves
Sin separates and one consequence of sin is that fellowship with the Lord is broken.
Let us follow the example of David and search our hearts to identify anything that has grieved our Lord, or quenched His Spirit in our lives, knowing that, if we confess our sins God is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness – and He will return us into sweet fellowship with Himself, once again.
Her sin was required a Saviour, no less than yours, nor less than mine: for all have sinned and fall short of His glory..
as it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: Remember, that without shedding of Christ’s blood there is no remission of sins Hebrews. 9:22 – and that means no forgiveness for anyone – not for me, for you… not for Mary.
Watching in prayer is keeping wakeful ‘in’ the strength of the holy exercise of prayer against sin and for God – but in THANKSGIVING: Letting the spirit and action of gratitude, (as it were)…surround your watching and praying lives.
Crucifixion was a lingering death, and while we stand once for all upon the fact of God, which is eternal and unchangeable, when our Lord Jesus Christ went to the Cross He took more than our sins with Him; He took our old man and dealt with the source of all our sin, and dealt with it satisfactorily.
For instance… when confronted by the prophet Nathan with his sin, David accepted his correction.
He recognised that his sin was against God and unlike Saul, David repented.
David was a correctable man who was prepared to turn from his sin.
Man of God
David was prepared to accept responsibilities for his life – not to blame others. David was prepared to often confess his sins and faults to the Lord..
He made some horrible choices, and he committed some heinous sins - however, David never consciously rejected the word of the Lord.
We are invincible, more than conquerors through Him who loved us, only as we are brought into ever deeper conformity to the Lord Jesus' death unto sin.
Christ’s Triumph
The Lord’s trials were needful to demonstrate the qualities of the second Adam: for being made perfect, He became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey Him. Christ’s testings were designed so that He, as our High Priest could empathise and succour – for we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathise with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.
The Shed Blood
Christ went to the cross not only to die for our sins – but to die unto SIN. His blood not only to paid the price FOR sin but it also broke the power OF sin in us. Many do not appreciate that Christ’s cross dealt with more than forgiven sins. The shed blood of Christ also gave us victory over the power of sin in our life,
Old Sin Nature
Because we are the progeny of fallen Adam, we are imputed with his sin nature, we were 'in Adam' when he sinned, and so his sin nature is credited to all humanity. Adam passed on the old sin nature to every subsequent member of the human race.
Imputed Righteousness
As born-again believers, the death of Christ broke the power of sin in our lives.
We were 'in Christ' when He died and so His righteousness is imputed to us. Christ not only paid the price for our sins but He also broke sin’s power within our life.
Biblical Truths
Christ died FOR us – He died as our substitute – He paid the full price for all our sins. We died WITH Christ – we are identified with Him – He broke the power of sin in us. Substitutionary truths are linked with our birth from above – we are saved by grace. Identification truths are linked with growth in the Christian life – we grow by grace.
Because our identification is with Christ – sin shall no more have dominion over us. I have been crucified with Christ.
The deep remorse over personal sins and the searing pain of cruel misunderstandings - the lashing stab of the unchecked word or the unguarded remark.
The heat of the flame and the weight of the hammer's iron is merciful and tender... Controlled by the hand of the Son of Man, Who was in all points tested as we are, yet without sin.
Faithful Shepherds
It seems these men, like David the shepherd king, were men after God’s own heart, as night after night and maybe year after year – these ones were unseen but faithful – unseen by multitudes, who daily flocked to the temple to seek YHWH’s forgiveness. Seen by the One who daily covered those sins – until the fullness of time came in.
Faithful Endurance
But do not lose heart, and do not be disobedient to the heavenly vision” of former days…”but be thou faithful even to the point of death, and I will give thee a crown of life.” Rev.2:10. Be faithful… not only to the point of physical death... but to the death of Self – death of the old sin-nature itself.
Old Self
The old self cannot be taught to deal with pride, anger, lust – to deal with sin. The old self may learn tricks to hide the sin nature, but it can never change it.
New Birth
The new birth is born through a deep conviction of sin and repentance. The new Christian often continues with a deep devotion to the Saviour. The early christian walk is frequently surrounded by great works and witness.
Failure
Until we recognise the deadly sin-life for what it is, our walk will fail. It is not “self” – that can be improved through introspection and trying. It is not “I” that can live a holy life by trying to improve the old self….
Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Certainly not! May it never be! How shall we who died TO sin still live in sin?Romans 6:1-2
Liberty of the Cross
Paul wants the believer to discover the liberation that he found in the cross of Christ. He longs that Christians truly understand the glory and wonder of God’s grace. Paul was thrilled to explain that all aspects of sin and death are dealt with by the cross. The cross of Christ dealt with both the sins we commit and the sin nature inherited from Adam.
Gates of Grace
The first 7 verses of Romans chapter 6 spell out the significance of being crucified unto sin. This short passage gives a bird's-eye view of a believer’s identification with Christ.
Glories of Justification
Chapter after chapter and verse-by-verse, Paul reveals the glories of justification – the fall into sin by one man:- Adam..
which plunged the human race into death, so that the transgression of one man resulted in the condemnation of the human race. The gift of salvation that was freely bestowed on us through one Man:- Christ Jesus, so that by the obedience and righteousness of one Man, many were made righteous – for by His death and resurrection the consequences of sin were done away with.
Grace Abounds
Paul builds up his case by showing that the Law’s perfection caused sins to increase. Men’s inability to keep the Law demonstrated the amazing grace of our justification, showing that where sin increased, the grace of God abounded all the more.
Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound all the more?
Gift of Salvation
Having demonstrated God’s amazing gift of salvation by grace through trusting Christ, Paul paraphrases a question he knows must be lingering in the minds of his listeners, “Shall we keep on sinning so that God’s grace may abound more and more?” Imagine that! Shall we revel in sin so that the grace of God can increase even more!
Broke Sin’s Power
Certainly not, is his cry!
How shall we who died TO sin live any longer in it? For when Christ died and rose again He broke the power of sin WITHIN us. He not only paid the price for our sins but broke the power of sin IN us.
Inherent Sin
The sin nature within man is imputed to ALL people.
The sin nature is inherent sin in us ALL, but when it says :- Christ died TO sin, it means that He broke sins’ power in US. We were slaves to the sin nature, but He broke the power of the sin nature within us.
So how shall we who died TO sin live any longer in it?
Newness of Life
When Christ died on the cross, our old sin nature was identified with Christ’s death.
The power of the old sin nature was broken by the death of Christ. When He rose from the dead, our new nature in Christ identified with His resurrection.
Baptism INTO Life
For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall also be in the likeness of His resurrection - knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin; for he who has died is freed from sin. S0…..
shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? May it never be! How shall we who died TO sin still live in sin?
There is something here much more than typology interpreted and the interpretation accepted as to salvation from sin and judgment; it is the essential and indispensable heavenly relatedness and life of the Lord's people as inwardly detached from the natural life even in a religious sense.
Our having been crucified with the Lord Jesus was to make the body of sin of none effect while we live by faith, but the old man can become active and dominant in the walk of the believer when faith becomes dormant and inactive.
It is not the Father's will that sin should have dominion over any child of His; all died with the Lord Jesus, all were united with Him in crucifixion, but few enter into the joy of the freedom of the sons of God, because they do not believe His Word.
Covenant Theology, at the utmost, is forgiveness of sins and divine favor enjoyed; and all that concerns their position in the Lord Jesus is ignored, or alas!
Men are placed under the New Covenant which does not go beyond remission of sins and the law written in the heart.
to the wickedness of these clamorous end times, where the accumulated filth of man’s sin, which bears down so heavily of all who live godly, has all but reached its fullness.
We must remember that our death to sin was once for all accomplished at the Cross.
There the believer shared the death of the Lord Jesus; for when he became a believer, the life he received was life in Christ, that is, life out of death, resurrection life, newness of life'; and the relation to sin and the law which Christ had, became those of the believer!
God now commands each of us to reckon ourselves as having died with Christ to sin - and therefore as now dead unto sin; and as having risen with Christ, and therefore now alive to God (Rom. 6:11).
When our testimony concerning His gift of freedom from the power of sin is as valid as our testimony to His gift of freedom from the penalty of sin, we will have matured.
He offers to set us free from the penalty of our sin.
And He offers to set us free from the power of our sin.
They mistakenly think that they must have some part in overcoming the power of their sin; that their efforts, their will, their determination, strengthened and helped by the Holy Spirit, is the way of victory. -C.T.
Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through [in] Jesus Christ our Lord (Rom. 6.11).
They do not believe the facts of the Word, and sin therefore reigns in their lives; they live in bondage to sin, praying for deliverance, praying that they may die to sin, but refusing to believe what God says He has already done. -L.L.L.
For we know that our old self was crucified with Him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sinRomans 6:6
The old sin nature of the old life in Adam must die, so that Christ’s new life can live. I assure you: unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains by itself – but if it dies, it produces a large crop.
Catalyst for Life
The death that He died was the catalyst for the life that we live – in Him: for we know that our old self was crucified with Him.. so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with – that we should no longer be slaves to sin.
Fellowship with God may be blocked through sin, and scripture may be misinterpreted due to incorrect teaching or a misunderstanding of dispensations, but a believer’s union with Christ is eternally unbreakable.
Just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, in this way death spread to all men, because all sinned.Romans 5:13
His deity equipped the Son of God to be good enough to pay the ransom price for the sin of world – but only His humanity qualified the Son of Man to become our kinsman-Redeemer, so that He could pour out His life-blood at Calvary, as the one and only perfect human Sacrifice for sin – the Sin Offering. Not only was He the perfect sacrifice that went to the cross as an obedient Son in submission to His Father – but He willingly walked the way of the cross for the depth of love He had for His Father.
Adam’s Sin
It was the humanity of Christ that equipped Him to become our Saviour.
The first man, Adam, who had been made in the image and likeness of God was the physical head of the human race – the progenitor of humanity – the original ancestor of all mankind, through whom have sprung all the nations upon earth. The sin in the garden of Eden was Adam’s responsibility for he was the man, created in the image and likeness of God, to be His son and to become the governor of the whole earth.
It was through his disobedience to the Father that the entire race of man fell – and inherent sin was the shocking outcome that was to separate his sinful race forever, from a holy God.
The first man was a natural man – an unsaved man – a man condemned to be separated from God forever, for the wages of sin is death; spiritual death – spiritual separation from the Father.
Just as the whole human race was imputed with the sin of the first man Adam – so also those that have trusted Jesus as Saviour have the new-life of Christ breathed into them by the Spirit of God – and they are imputed with His righteousness.
Old Creation
The sin of the first man, Adam, rendered the entire race of mankind : CONDEMNED sinners.
He chose rebellion and the moment he disobeyed and sinned against the Lord, the spirit of Adam died – and from that time forward the children of men were eternally separated from their Creator God – they were dead in their trespasses and sins from birth.
Just as God prepared a body for the first Adam so He also prepared a body for the last Adam – a living, breathing human body, that was free from the inherent sin nature of fallen man – but a body of flesh and blood, in which would dwell the incarnate Son of God – the Word made flesh.
Second Man
Just as sin entered the world through the disobedience of one man, and death came through sin, causing condemnation and separation from God to be the inherited status of all people – so also redemption came to the world through the obedience of one Man, resulting in the forgiveness of sins for all humanity – and light and life and hope and peace and renewed fellowship with the Father – to ALL who would believe on His name. It was divine grace that provided a second Adam to redeem the fallen race of man.
It was the eternal Son of God Who laid aside His glory to become the second Man Who would redeem the family of man from their sins, by becoming their substitute Sacrifice.
It is only as I know what the Lord Jesus is to the Father in glory that I can in any degree truly estimate my own acceptance in Him: Had He my sins laid on Him?
2 Aspects of Salvation
The death of Christ is the most wonderful thing that deserves our thanks, for through the death of the innocent Victim our sins were forever forgiven.
Sin’s Penalty / Power
But what does it mean: this aspect of the cross of Christ, in which we should glory alone?
How many prefer to simply focus on the initial surrender – forgiveness of sins..
The Galatians were forgiven, born-again people, who were not relapsing into sin, but they were foolishly falling into the trap of ego, self-righteousness, and pride.
Comfort and Care
Exhortation and encouragement is a beautiful aspect of our Christian life. Peter is the apostle that encourages us to care for one another, in Christ. Peter tells us: above all, keep loving one another earnestly, for love covers a multitude of sins. 1Peter 4:8. We should be concerned for the well-being of fellow believers in many ways.
And any correction must be carried out in love – for love covers many sins.
A person may easily know his sins forgiven, but it is a further truth to know that he himself has died to sin.' He finds this conflicts with his experience.
He tells us our sins are forgiven, and it is a question whether we believe Him.
But when He tells us we have died to sin, we look inside and say, Ah, sin is still at work; how is that?' A person must be taught of God to know really the truth that he has died to sin. -J.N.D.
It is when you see you are dead unto sin that you die to it (daily); it is when you see you are risen that you arise; it is when you see you are a new creation' in Him that you (progressively) grow.
You were set free from the tyranny of Sin (Rom. 6:18, Wey.).
In Romans Six we find that through the death of Christ, sin shall not have dominion over you - the idea is of bondage, ruling, governing, dominating.
Whilst we really believe God's Word that we have died with Christ unto sin, and count upon Him as the Living One to manifest His life through us, others will see that self is inoperative, whilst we are occupied with Christ.
For the death He died He died to sin, once for all, but the life He lives He lives to God.
So you also … sin will not rule over you, because you are not under law but under graceRomans 6:8-11
Because of this one man’s sin all humanity is born into the world separated from God.
The natural man is very much physically alive, but born dead in trespasses and sins.
This verse tells us that the unbeliever’s relationship to sin is slavery.
This passage tells us that all men are born dead in trespasses and sins – separated from God and a slave to sin.
Fruit & Root of Sin
In verse 20 Paul reminds these Roman believers that before they believed in Jesus, they were also slaves to sin.
The physical or mental act of sinning is the fruit of sin, but the inner sin nature, that was passed on to us from Adam is the root of sin.
But the good news is that this slave relationship to sin is broken the moment we trust in Jesus: so that we would no longer be enslaved to the sin-nature.
Separated From Sin
Our enslavement to sin ceased forever when we first believed – our union to sin was severed.
But although our connection to the sin nature has been severed, its influence is still alive and remains throughout our lifetime.
Paul asks the question:- How shall we, who died to sin live any longer therein..
or how shall we who were separated to sin live any longer therein?” This verb is: 1) the aorist tense 2) the passive voice and 3) the indicative mood which means: 1) it is an action and not a process. 2) it was done to you and nothing you did and 3) it is a literal state of reality – now.
Separated To Christ
The wonderful truth is that there is nothing we have to do to separate ourselves from the sin nature.
We were separated from our sin nature the moment we trusted Christ.
Amazingly our sin nature died (from eternity past) when Christ died on Calvary’s cross.
Gift of Saving Grace
Paul tells us that sin came from one man and is passed on to all men: for all men sinned.
Paul then answers his own question – if grace comes as a result of sin..
God forbid, is his emphatic reply, how shall we, that died to sin, live any longer in it.
Death To Sin
Paul tells us that we who are believers in Christ, “died to sin.” He tells us that sin is not a present state but a past event.
Death to sin is a fact of our Christian life and took place at Calvary’s cross.
We died to the sin nature when Christ died on the cross.
Christ’s death broke the power of sin in our lives and severed our relationship to sin – we “died to sin”.
This is not to say that the sin nature is dead but that we are separated from its power over us.
It says WE—- DIED—– TO—— SIN.
Power Over Sin
When Christ died on the cross, He broke the power of sin in our lives and severed our relationship to our sin-nature.
Oh, the influence of the sin nature remains but our connection to the sin nature is severed.
Before we believed we were servants to the sin-nature, which means we were separated from God.
But after we were saved we became servants to God – which means we were separated from the power of sin in our lives.
We may permit sin to influence us – but in Christ, we have received the power to overcome sin.
The sin-nature (the flesh) is severed from a believer, but that flesh, (the severed sin nature) remains alongside our new spirit and engages in an ongoing battle for supremacy within.
Place of Death
The flesh is in conflict against the spirit and must be kept: in the place of death, and Paul then explains how to keep the sin-nature (the flesh) in the place of death.
Paul tells us that all believers should know about our sin-nature and learn how to relate to our sin-nature.
We should understand how a believer functions and gain an understanding of how to keep that sin-nature in the place of death.
Make a positive response to the inner voice of the Holy Spirit, and make a negative response to the inner voice of the fleshly sin nature.
If forgiveness is dependent on confession, I need to trust 1 John 1:9 for if we (who are saved) confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Whole Truth
The one taken in adultery was given the whole truth and told to go and sin no more.
The one that was healed was also told the whole truth and told to go and sin no more: “Behold, thou art made whole: sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee.” John 5:14
ot knowing He bore their sins on His shoulders, so that they could be forgiven.
for in Isaiah we read: He bore the sin of many and interceded for the transgressors.
Gracious Intercession
His intercession reached back to include all sin, beginning in the garden of Paradise – a pardon extending forward to pay for every mortal sin, including yours and mine.
yet had they known the fuller consequences, Jesus would never have been crucified, for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.1 Corinthians 2:8 But the Lord Jesus had to die if we guilty sinners were to live. Had the Lord of glory not died our sins could not have been forgiven.
God’s propitiatory sacrifice for sin was the product of history’s most heinous crime.
The crucifixion of God’s Son, opened the floodgates of His gracious forgiveness – and His death paid for the full price of humanities every sin – all the sin of all men, so that all that believe in His name will be saved.
Precious Fruit
Since His substitutionary death, sin is not the real barrier between man and God: but what think ye of Christ – for whoever believes in Him is not condemned.
Heaven is open to all who believe that Christ paid the full price for their sins.
What Think Ye
Christ’s substitutionary death at Calvary paid the price for the sin of the world. His precious pardon was prayed over every guilty person, Jew and Gentile alike. Forgiveness is Father-heart of God’s great love towards every guilty sinner – believing on the Lord Jesus Christ is the only requirement – What think ye of Christ?
but by man and man’s sin came death. Man was not made mortal. Man was made a living soul, in-breathed with God’s life, but the wages of sin are death..
The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law – but thanks be to God, Who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
And sin, and the eternal ruin of our race, can cause man and woman to despair of life.
His plans and purposes are for man to escape from a life of sin and slavery – a plan made from before the foundation of the world.
And eye has not seen nor ear heard what He has in store for those that love Him. 1 Corinthians 2:9 And yet, I hear you say:- I am living now… in this sin-sick, forsaken world – and life is rushing me by..
STUDY in PRAYER
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 cleanses us from all sin.1 John 1:7
Plan of Redemption
Every member of the human race is a sinner – so all are under God’s condemnation, but God’s plan of redemption was so designed that sin could be eternally forgiven – the Lord Jesus willingly took the punishment to forgive the sin of the whole world.
Free Gift of Grace
God’s wrath and condemnation for the sin of the world was poured out on Christ. All that man has to do to receive this free gift of grace is to believe on Jesus Christ – simply believing puts us in union with Christ and places us into the family of God.
Neither sinner nor saint are condemned for their sin, for all sin has been forgiven.
Neither saint nor sinner will be judged for their sin for God's judgement fell on Christ.
God’s Judgement
Jesus bore the sins of the world for sinner and saint alike.
The price for all sin was paid at the cross.
God’s judgement for all sin fell on Christ, but believer and unbeliever alike will be ‘judged’ on what they thought of Christ.
Blood of Christ
So if our sin is already forgiven – what does it mean when John tells us that: the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin?
Permanent Union
The union we have with Christ when we first believed is eternal and can’t be broken. When we trusted Jesus as Saviour all our sins – past, present and future were forgiven – and we were placed in everlasting, permanent and unbreakable union with Christ.
But access to the Father and fellowship with Him is always broken when we sin.
When we sin in thought or word or deed we erect a barrier between God, and us.
the cross dealt with forgiveness of sin – but confession restores communion. When we discover we are out of fellowship with God we need to confess our sins. When we realise we’ve sinned we need to go straight to the throne of grace and confess – and when we do we are restored into loving fellowship with our heavenly Father.
Fruitless Intercession
Intercession is fruitless without a heart that has been cleansed of all sin.
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 cleanses us from all sin.
If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 1John 1:7;8
Forgiven and Cleansed
Sins are finally and forever forgiven at the cross – all sin.
A penitent believer who sins is cleansed by simply telling the Father – Father I sinned.
The grace, faithfulness and justice of God forgave all your sin at the cross.
the acceptance of man BY God… the wages of sin and death paid in full – telelestai!! Telelestai!! TELELESTAI.
The power of sin, death, and the devil broken – telelestai!! Telelestai!! TELELESTAI!!!!
He had uttered some of the most astonishing words from the cross; His Precious Pardon, Forgive to His malicious persecutors; His Promise of Paradise – Today, to His penitent co-convict; His Amazing Love – Provision, to the woman who bore Him; His Anguished Outcry – MY GOD, as He was made sin for humanity; His Final Offer of Grace - I Thirst..
Hopkins:
“The trouble of the believer who knows Christ as his justification, is not sin..
as to its guilt, but sin as to its ruling power.
In other words, it is not from sin as a load, or an offence, that he seeks to be freed..
for he sees that God has completely acquitted him from the charge and penalty of sin – but it is from sin as a master. To know God’s way of deliverance from sin as a master, he must apprehend the truth contained in the sixth chapter of Romans.
There we see what God has done, not with our sins - that question the Apostle dealt with in the preceding chapters, but with ourselves..
with self - the agents and slaves of sin.
He has put our old man where He put our sins, namely, on the cross with Christ: knowing this, that our old man was crucified with him’ (Romans 6:6).
Andrew Murray:
“Like Christ, the believer too has died to sin; he is one with Christ, in the likeness of His death (Romans 6:5).
And just as the knowledge that Christ died for sin (died as our atonement) is indispensable to our justification; so the knowledge that Christ and we, with Him, in the likeness of His death, are dead to sin – is indispensable to our sanctification” (Like Christ, p.176).
Newell:
“To those who refuse, or neglect, to reckon themselves dead to sin as God commands, we press the question, How are you able to believe that Christ really bare the guilt of your sins and that you will not meet them at the judgment day?
It is only God’s Word that tells you that Christ bare your sins in His own body on the tree.
And it is the same Word that tells you that you as connected with Adam, died with Christ, that your old man was crucified, that since you are in Christ you shared His death unto sin, and are thus to reckon your present relationship to sin in Christ – as one who is dead to it, and alive unto God” (Romans, Verse by Verse, p.227).
Lewis Sperry Chafer:
“The theme under consideration is concerned with the death of Christ as that death is related to the divine judgments of the sin nature in the child of God.
Watchman Nee:
“Our sins were dealt with by the blood, we ourselves are dealt with by the cross. The blood procures our pardon….. the cross procures deliverance from what we are in Adam.
The blood can wash away my sins, but it cannot wash away my ‘old man’, I need the cross to crucify me – the sinner. (The Normal Christian Life).
In this union with Christ, the flesh, ‘the body of sin’ — the entire fallen, sin-ruined being with its intelligence, will, and desires — is judged and crucified.
By faith, the believer reckons (counts) himself ‘dead unto sin’ (Romans 6:3-14)” (N.
‘Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.
Reginald Wallis:
“God says in effect, ‘My child, as you reckoned on the substitutionary work of the Lord Jesus Christ for your salvation, now go a step farther and reckon on His representative work for your victory day by day.’ You believe that the Lord Jesus died for your sins because God said so.
McConkey:
“Because He died ‘death hath no more dominion over Him,’ and because of our union with Him ‘sin shall not have dominion over you,’ even though it is present in you. Our ‘reckoning’ ourselves dead to sin in Jesus Christ does not make it a fact – it is already a fact through our union with Him.
Consequences of Sin
Are we in all honesty prepared to look at sin as God sees sin, and take Him seriously?
Do we truly recognise that sin is a cancerous poison – as outlined in God’s Word?
Until we can accept how terrible sin is and its shocking and deadly consequences we can’t begin to appreciate or comprehend God’s amazing redemptive grace.
Grace of God
When we see sin as it truly is we begin to understand what God’s grace is., for now, in union with the Christ Jesus, we who once were far away have been brought near, by the blood of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Reality of Sin
Our head-knowledge of the cross must spill into our beings and pierce our heart.
We need to be broken at the cross and recognise the pernicious reality of sin – and then we will start to truly understand what it cost our God to save our soul.
The dying thief rejoiced to see That fountain in his day; And there have I, though vile as he, Washed all my sins away.
Dear dying Lamb, Thy precious blood Shall never lose its power ’Till all the ransomed church of God Be saved, to sin no more.
Jesus gave Himself for our sins, that He might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God and our Father.Galatians 1:4
Every unbeliever is controlled by their sin-nature and is at enmity with God.
and that is a fact of sin and death – and it’s non-negotiable in time and affects our eternity.
Every believer is delivered from their sin-nature and placed eternal union with Christ.
However hard we try to meet His righteous requirements we fail and end in despair, for we are not sinners because we sin – we sin because we ARE sinners.
We fall short of His perfect standard and the wages of sin is death.
Sin Sacrifice
But God created a plan that was entirely compatible with His holy character.
He sent His perfect Son Who fulfilled the whole law on our behalf, and then He willingly gave Himself as the perfect sacrifice for sin, on our behalf – so that we could become the righteousness of Christ, in Him.
Imputed Unrighteousness
We are delivered from the controlling power of our old sin-nature, but what’s that?
The fall of Adam resulted in humanity being imputed with Adam’s unrighteousness. The sin of our first father places all humanity under the control of our sin-nature.
Newness of Life
In Adam, we receive an old sin-nature, which has a controlling influence on our lives.
But in Christ, our sin nature died at the Cross and we were raised into newness of life.
Body of Death
Paul tried to deal with his own sin nature in his own strength and cried out, oh wretched man that I am..
who shall deliver me from this body of death? Then he finally understood that victory over his sin nature was found in Christ: but thanks be to God Who has given me the victory IN Christ Jesus my Lord.
Old Sin Nature
The old sin-nature was crucified with Christ and we became a new creation in Christ.
The old sin-nature lost its power, which was removed at the cross by Christ.
our old sin-nature tries to regain supremacy over us..
but when we died with Christ, the power of that sin-nature was forever severed.
The creation was good, but it was cursed, for Adam’s sin affected the natural world.
In Him we are delivered from the sin-nature and placed in eternal union with Jesus. This is the fact of life – the fact of abundant life – the fact of eternal life.
Jesus gave Himself for our sins, that He might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God and our Father – and the Lord shall deliver me from every evil work, and will preserve me unto His heavenly kingdom: to Whom be glory forever and ever.
The believer can never overcome the old man' even by the power of the new' apart from the work of the Cross, and therefore the death of Christ is indispensable, and unless the Cross is made the basis upon which he overcomes the old nature,' he only drops into another form of morality; in other words, he is seeking by self-effort to overcome sin and self, and the struggle is a hopeless one. -C.U.
The heart is constantly looking to God to give a testimony about itself; but the Father is giving a testimony concerning His Son, and not about what we are; if He were to give a testimony about us, it must be about our sin and unbelief of heart.
When the Lord Jesus has once died and risen, He is through with sin forever.
We can cry triumphantly, when we know: I died unto sin with the Lord Jesus on the Cross, two thousand years ago!
I reckon myself what the Father says I am in His Son - dead unto sin and alive unto God.
Sin has no claim on me in the Lord Jesus, and cannot have dominion over me, as I yield myself to my Father in this wonderful new revelation of yielding myself to God, as one who is alive from the dead' (Rom. 6:13).
As sinners, the law revealed our need of deliverance from the penalty of sin; as believers, the law reveals our need of deliverance from the power of sin.
Remembered No More
Too often we revisit forgiven sins and beat ourselves mercilessly for our misdemeanours, but once forgiven, that sin is remembered no more.
Once forgiven, your sins are as far away as the east is from the west.
No Fishing
The great D.L Moody once noted that if God promises to cast all our confessed sin into the depth of the sea, we must not get out a fishing line and keep pulling them back in. If God has forgiven you, then accept His forgiveness and forgive yourself as well.
Daily Cleansing
Day by day we need to confess the sins we commit – moment by moment, for if we confess our sins to Him, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from every wrong. 1John 1:9 But remember – once forgiven, that sin is remembered no more. Once forgiven – your sins are as far away as the east is from the west.
Renouncing Anger
To forgive others you need to renounce anger and resentment against the other, but have you been willing to accept God’s forgiveness of all of your sins? Are you prepared to bestow on another the gift you received from God? Can you honestly withhold forgiveness towards another, when the Lord gave His beloved Son’s life in order to forgive you?
I spent time identifying and praying forgiveness over everything: Forgiveness over every person; cleansing over every situation, for I had not been faithful in applying 1 John 1:9 – For if we believers confess our sins to Him, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from every wrong.
Prayer of Forgiveness
How true is the scripture that tells us that love covers a multitude of sins.
Spiritual Strongholds
Without the innate sin nature, every new believer would certainly choose life.
Laws of Life
Time is short and each of us needs to prepare for the any-day return of the Lord, and God has set out the ‘laws’ of the sanctified life, in the middle of scripture… The first step towards sanctification is right thinking, and right thinking is recognising your own strongholds, doubts, and fears, so that you can turn away from the sin of erroneous thinking about God, for right thinking always starts with your own thoughts.
The life of Jesus became thus acceptable as the sin offering. The life of Jesus became the burnt offering – a sweet savor to the Lord - casting out upon the sea of humanity gifts: “Oh that men would praise the name of the Lord: for His name alone is exalted: His glory is above the earth and heaven”.
free from the old sin nature passed from father to son. Without the virgin birth there could be no Saviour for a man born from the union of a man with a woman, is imputed with an inherent sin nature – right from conception.
Plan of Salvation
Had Christ been begotten of a human father He could not be the second Person of the Trinity, and the plan of Salvation would have been the biggest farce in history. Had He been begotten of a human father Christ would have been imputed with SIN.
Price for Sin
So when the fullness of time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law, to redeem us all, so that we might receive adoption as sons. To deny the deity of the Lord Jesus Christ renders Calvary as a sham and charade, for there is none good..
o not one, who could pay the price for sin – except God, God alone could pay the price for sin.
Supply of Grace
His primary provision is His grace in providing against the coming judgment, for the wages of sin is death – but God provided us with the gift of life – life to all who believe in Him.
He not only forgave our sins at the cross, but He rose to provide us eternal life.
And ugly, cancerous sin infected creations beauty..
one so besotted with sin.. one floundering in the polluted sea of humanity. Yet Mary recognised this astonishing fact, and the Holy Spirit made sure it was recorded in the Word of God. And this truth is as true for you and for me..
Attributes of Christ
The Lord..forgiveth all thine iniquities – and Jesus also forgives sins. The Lord our God is One – yet Jesus and the Father are One. God is glorified – but now all men should glorify and honour the Son.
We have been born in a season of sin and sorrow, for we were born 'in Adam'.
Some of life’s problems and pain result from our own self-imposed sins – from our own sins, shortcomings, foolishness, or neglect.
Confess Faults
To be comforted in my own self-imposed sins and stupidity, I must confess my fault.
Confess all sins and shortcomings, and turn away from them, and look to Him.
Once confessed – even the gravest of sins, in thought, word or deed, have been cleansed – and as far as east is from west – thus far has He removed our sins – forever.
Sufficient Forgiveness
Do you sometimes revisit those sins committed in the flush of youth? Do you bow your head in shame thinking that your sins were too grave to be forgiven?
Your sins, like grains of sand, are washed in the vast ocean of His loving absolution.
Enemies of the Soul
Though few believers may succumb to the vicious vices that tempt and tease, there are many simple delights that lure us into the net of worldly lusts - minor indulgences in fleshly pleasures, can catapult a salty saint into stupid sin.
What a Friend we have in Jesus
What a Friend we have in Jesus, all our sins and griefs to bear!What a privilege to carry everything to God in prayer!O what peace we often forfeit, O what needless pain we bear,All because we do not carry everything to God in prayer.
Study - GOD, All I Need
Seeing then that we have a great High Priest, Who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession… for we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathise with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us, therefore, come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. Hebrews 4:14
Study - GOD, All I Need
Born Dead in Sin
The great desire of the so many saintly people is for purity of heart – for in Matthew we read, blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God. Matthew 5:8 Born, dead in trespasses and sins, there is a gulf betwixt man and God – a gulf so huge that none but God’s perfect Sacrifice alone, could bridge that gap.
Sin in all its ugly shades of black darkness, hangs shroud-like over humanity’s head – but thanks be to God, that in His grace, He has given the way to bring us back to Himself – through the blood of Christ – (incarnate God and perfect Man)
Washed Clean in Blood
The blood of Christ cleanses us from all sin. 1John 1:7 Washed in the blood of the Lamb ..
Step to Holiness
Man of himself remains dead in trespasses and sins… unless and until he is washed, cleansed, and forgiven in the blood of the Lamb.
Isaiah tells us, though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow Isaiah 1:18 – but that is not the final product of holiness – but it is the first step towards purity.
Salvation is a once for all, full cleansing – but we are required, from that day on to be cleansed… cleansed from the influences of life... cleansed, day by day, from all that infects and debilitates our witness for Him… cleansed from any daily sins.
Dressed in His Purity
If I truly am to have a pure heart, a clean heart and a right spirit within then I must put off the things of this world – of self – of the old man – of the sin nature.
Indeed, I must be an overcomer, in sin, the world, the flesh, and the devil.
He continues to tell us in the same verse, though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool. Isaiah 1:18
Sacrifice for Sin
God so loved the world that when man sinned, He put into effect the plan of salvation, that He had purposed before the world was created.
Plan of Salvation
It was man – sin-ridden, rebellious human-kind that God loved so much.
It was mutinous man who desired to be as God; fallen man who was riddled through with rebellion, and sin-sick to the core, that God loved so deeply, that He sent His Son to die for our sins.
God loved man, and that love was so deep and compassionate – so all-embracing that He sent His Son to die as the sacrifice for sin, so that man might live.
believe on Jesus; believe that He died and was buried and rose the third day to pay the price for our sin.
Salvation of Man
There is only one place in Scripture where the question is actually asked, What must I do to be saved..? and the answer is given clearly and simply, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved. The spirit of man which was born dead in trespasses and sins is saved simply by believing on the Lord Jesus Christ as our sacrifice for sin. But our initial salvation (our salvation of the spirit) is of course the first step on a life journey for the salvation of the soul of man, for once we have been eternally saved we are told by Paul, in Philippians 2:12, that we must work out our own salvation. This aspect of salvation is called sanctification and is ongoing throughout the whole of our whole Christian life.
The essential condition for salvation is simply to believe that Jesus died for my sins and that by His death and resurrection He paid the full price for my sins – and all I have to do is to believe on Him. I cannot win my salvation or buy salvation for myself.
Distortions of Truth
Often, in a heart damaged by life’s traumas, the truth becomes distorted – even the truth of God becomes twisted and perverted through the influence of sin.
Quest for Truth
There is not one man, woman, or child that has not been damaged by this world of sin.
“O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come”, were his caustic words of contempt. But one day, this greatest of all prophets, who had baptised many (who in poverty of spirit had repented of their sins), was suddenly overwhelmed by the grossness of his own wickedness when the Lord Jesus walked into the water – to be baptised by John. It was in abject humility of heart and wretched bitterness of spirit that John must have whispered, “It is I who need to be baptised by You – how can You come to me?”
Baptism of Repentance
John indeed did need to be washed by the Lord – not only a baptism of repentance but a washing in the fountain of precious blood that flowed from Emmanuel’s severed veins – which alone can cleanse a filthy sinner from his sins and his old sin nature. But this prophet of God was of the house and linage of Levi and it was God’s purpose that His Beloved Son should be anointed High Priest, after the order of Melchizedek.
– the baptism of the sinless Christ in the Jordan was not for His own sins, for He had none of which to repent – but He was to be the Saviour of the sinner, the Redeemer of the lost, and in this act of anointing, our Saviour deliberately identified Himself with your sin and mine.
How similar to the wicked workings of today’s satanically driven world, and yet the accumulating wickedness of our sin-sick world greatly exceeds Habakkuk’s day.
Ignorance and Unbelief
But amidst the filth and hatred of this suffering sin-soaked sordid world.. the joy of His mercy is of-times shrouded behind unbelief or ignorance. Perceptions of a distant God, playing sport with His hurting children ferment.. and God is blamed for the ills that befall us all in this fallen world.
Some even erroneously bemoan that God has withdrawn His presence from them... often seeking out some personal sin or deficiency that caused God’s withdrawal – refusing to believe His Word, unless God proves Himself to their satisfaction.
Yet the fall of man dictated creation’s descent into an abyss of travail, and the tears of groaning man have fallen ever since within this sin-sick world.
Gift of Love
God loved the world so dearly that He gave the Son of His love to bear the punishment for our sin and to die an ignominious death as the substitute for our sin, on a cruel Roman cross – and He gave His Son as a Gift forever – to a race of fallen sinners. Today there is a man seated on the throne of God, Who was born in Bethlehem 2000 years ago. He was laid in a manger and grew up in a simple home.
Pivotal Point
From the first fatal fall of man in Eden, the sin of man had been covered by the blood of bulls and goats, but His birth was a pivotal point in history – when the Son could say to the Father:- Sacrifice and offering You did not desire, but a (human) Body You have prepared for Me.
In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin You had no pleasure. Christ identified Himself with the fallen race man so completely and so intimately, that His birth into a world of men was an irreversible seal on the pages history.
Though you were slaves of sin, you became obedient from the heart to that form of teaching to which you were committed.Romans 6:17
Simple Instructions
These simple instructions conflict with the function of man’s old sin nature – and these simple instructions are diametrically opposed from man’s human wisdom.
For the Sin Nature (the Flesh) – is in conflict against the Spirit,And Man’s Wisdom (man’s Reason) – is foolishness to God.
The Son
The Son was sent by the Father as the representative Man and Sacrifice for sin, to carry out the work of salvation by paying the price of humanities sin, and redeeming all who would trust on His name.
His death paid the price for our sins and His resurrection broke the power of sin in our lives and He has reconciled us to the Father enabling full fellowship with the triune God.
Work of Christ
God’s grace is founded on the work of Christ, the Son of God Who is God the Son, for His plan has provided redemption and purchased us from the penalty of sin.
Grace Upon Grace
Our sins are forgiven and we’re made alive – quickened into new and abundant life, and the supernatural grace of sanctifying grace cascades into God’s glorifying grace.
In union with Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our sin, according to the riches of God’s grace.Ephesians 1:7
Curse of Sin
To date it is 100% certain that if you have been born you will die – physically. Though man longs to live eternally, we are under the curse of sin and death..
for by one man’s sin came death – spiritual death and finally physical death, for all.
Everyone is born spiritually dead in trespasses and sins… eternally separated from God.
Cost of Redemption
Sometimes we overlook the enormous significance of salvation and its cost to God. But redemption and the forgiveness of sins are according to the riches of His grace.
We were enslaved in sin and slaves of Satan, with the curse of death on our head.
We were spiritually dead; at enmity with God - Satan’s captive in the slave-market of sin.
There was no other good enough to pay the full ransom price for your sins and mine.
Forgiveness of Sin
Forgiveness of sins is just one from a shower of blessings He richly bestows upon us.
The shedding of His blood secures pardon and God remembers our sin no more. But without forgiveness of sin, we are ineligible for all other graces of salvation.
All the riches of redemptive grace are uniquely united with the forgiveness of sins – for a holy God can’t look at sin... but as forgiven sinners, we are united with His Son.
Greater Plan
Every believer in Christ rejoices in their salvation, knowing that their sins have been forgiven and that they have received eternal life – knowing that they have a glorious inheritance, which is laid up for them in heaven.
Iron Curtain
The eyes of this great teacher of Israel had been veiled by the iron curtain of sin and the traditions of men – and so God had sent His only begotten Son to fulfil the perfect requirements of the Law, so that He could be the one, perfect human Sacrifice – so that He could pay the price for the accumulated sin of the race of humanity.
God’s People
In the whole of the sin-soaked, sour-saturated world-system, God has His people – simple – little – quiet – unassuming- ill-treated – misunderstood people.
Amid the cut-throat realms of a satanically-seduced, sin-sick world – “God is ‘dead’” or God has lost the plot.. or God’s doesn’t care – and God’s character is misaligned.
Root of Discord
Sin introduced strife and conflict, friction and hostility into the deepest part of man.
Disunity and division was the consequence of sin; disunity and divorce, between man and his fellow man; disunity and disconnection between man and His Creator God.
The sin that once estranged and antagonised, is beauteously removed through faith, The God-Man became the Days-Man that Job so yearned for: his living Redeemer.
Eternal Plan
At first, we were called out of darkness into His glorious light. We were called out from the bondage of sin and death into the freedom of God’s Son, and throughout this life, we are witnesses to the amazing grace of God – and throughout this life we are being trained to carry out our part in God’s eternal plan.
The Saviour
Jesus Christ has many wonderful names, many beautiful titles, many eternal qualities but perhaps the most excellent and precious of all is that of Saviour – Redeemer. The sin of one man separated the race of humanity from the holiness of God for we are told in the Word of God that sin had separated fallen man from a righteous God, and without a Saviour to save us from our sins – that separation is eternal.
God’s gift
The wages of sin is death but the gift of God is eternal life.
The payment for our sins is eternal separation from God, but He gave His unique Son through Whom comes life. Eternal life is God’s gift – Salvation is God’s gift – Jesus Christ is God’s special gift. The gift of salvation was no afterthought on the part of God.
It was God’s purpose to save the race He knew would sin – but it took 4000 years to prepare a lost world.
Unique Saviour
He is not only the root and stem of David, but He is the good Shepherd that was born in humble circumstances so that He could save us from our sins and seat us together with Himself in heavenly places for He is our unique Saviour and God’s very Special Gift – so that all Who believe on His name will not perish but have everlasting life.
National Repentance
Peter is seen calling men of Israel around the world to repent of their sins, and a policy of excluding Gentiles persisted in these first few chapters of Acts. Israel were God’s people who had strayed far from their God – so they were to repent. Down through the centuries prophet after prophet called Israel to turn from their sins.
they were to repent of their sins and believe on Jesus – the Messiah sent by God.
Action or attitude in a believer, stemming from the old sin nature needs correction – like Job’s self-righteousness; his wife’s defeat; his friends critical religiosity.
Right Standing
All characters were saved, but not one was in complete, right-standing with God. And God corrects all such wrong attitudes and actions, that are influenced by the old sin nature. Job is instructed by the Spirit of God, in chapter 5 verse 17, of a truth of God, behold, happy is the man whom God corrects, therefore despise not thou the chastening of the Almighty.
God-Dependency
When God gave the Law through Moses, He knew man’s fallen sin-nature would develop a spirit of confidence in self – rather than humble dependence upon God.
A Vital Lesson
The apostle Paul realised that it was the Law that showed him his sin.
But as the sin of pride increased so also the grace that flowed from God multiplied.
Pursue Holiness
To try to sanctify ourselves ends up as ‘works of the flesh’ produced by our sin nature. It is by grace that we are sanctified, as we submit to the work of the Spirit within.
Riches of His Grace
When we begin to understand that grace is bigger than the total sum of our sins, the love of God will constrain us towards the diligent pursuit of sanctification.
God’s Grace
Just as sin ruled over all people and brought them death – so the marvellous grace of God now rules instead, giving us right-standing with God and resulting in eternal life – through Jesus Christ our Lord. The Law requires works, which could never reach the perfection required of God.
Continuing Grace
Too often we limit the grace of God to salvation from the penalty of sin – alone. We often forget that salvation was the start of our eternal journey and not the end, for grace is poured out throughout life and grace continues into the ages to come.
Freedom of Grace
We are saved from the penalty of sin, which is death – eternal separation from God. But we are also saved from the destructive and enslaving power of sin in our lives: for sin shall no longer be master over you and have dominion over you..
Provision of Grace
God’s provision of grace is given in love and breaks the power of cancelled sin. Grace sets us free to live and move and have our being – living and working in Him.
God's Word declares that we are dead indeed unto sin,' but nowhere does it say that we are dead in ourselves.
We have died to sin; not in ourselves, but in Christ,' and our death with Him is as sure as His death, and since we died with Him it is impossible for His death to be certain and ours uncertain.
The purpose of Paul, in Romans Six, is to show how completely the believer is identified with the Lord Jesus when He died unto sin.' To enter fully into the meaning of that death is to see that He has emancipated us from any further dealings with our old master, sin.
The believer is privileged thus to take his position in the risen Lord Jesus, who is now alive unto God.' From that ground he is henceforth to regard sin. -E.H.
Trust in God
The final snare is to permit the trials of this life to overwhelm us with worry, lest at any time your hearts be overwhelmed with the cares of this life. And the caution against the physical sin translates into a spiritual warning.
But there were elements in Job’s pure, virtuous life, needing the Spirit’s refining touch. Elements the moral, upright, proud, self-governed heart of Job, needed to learn, and God used the circumstances in Job’s life to bring him into a closer walk with God – just as God uses happenings in our lives, to draw us closer to Himself. Chambers once wrote, One of the most cunning travesties, is to represent Satan – as the instigator of external sins.
Wiles of Satan
The devil certainly was instrumental in the birth of fleshly sins and the carnal nature – but Satan seeks much more from the man of God, than to tempt his with such trifles.
Underlying Lesson
The underlying lesson of the life of Job has nothing to do with sins. It has nothing to do with any sin righteous Job did or did not commit.
It has nothing to do sins that Job’s friends accused him of committing.
Past, present, and future sins of the believing man are forgiven and forgotten. The same holds true for the man of God today – all sins are forgiven and forgotten – past, present and future – all forgiven and forgotten. So don’t pride yourself that your forgiven sins are influencing the troubles in your life.
seeking to influence the religious nature of your ‘old man against God… that 'old sin nature' which prefers your-Self rather than God’s 'Christ-Self'? Have you considered Job’s three friends, who walk in the flesh and not in the Spirit – where God accused them saying for you have not spoken of ME what is right? Job 42:7
Deliverance from the reign of sin, and liberty in the life of Christ, are set forth as a doctrinal unit in Romans Six, Seven and Eight.
When we begin to comprehend Romans Six, we know that our death in Christ unto sin was completed at Calvary.
In Romans Six we see the foundation of our deliverance - the fact that we died with Christ; and also the conditions of our deliverance - that we reckon ourselves dead unto sin and yield to God as those that are alive from the dead.
Romans Eight tells us the means and the method of our deliverance - that it is through the blessed Holy Spirit alone that we are actually delivered in everyday life, from sin's reign; the moment we cease from all our own efforts and let Him do all the work, He will begin delivering us from the power of sin.
He went to the cross willingly, for the perfect sacrifice had to be a willing body. Christ rose from the dead in a perfect body of flesh and bone – a glorified body. His death secured our pardon from sin and His resurrection secured our eternal life.
Eternal Destiny
Christ was covered with our sins so that we could be arrayed with His righteousness. Christ was identified with our sinfulness so that we could identify with all that is His. Christ shared in our humanity so that our eternal destiny with Him could be secured – so all the blessings that are rightfully His would be shared with all who believe.
Hope in Christ
It was God’s purpose to redeem us through the blood of Jesus and to forgive our sins, and He purposed this heavenly blessing in accordance with the riches of His grace.
Incomparable Love
God in His incomparable love has blessed us in the heavenlies in a myriad of ways. God who is rich in mercy made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in sins.
Different Bodies
He came to earth to be born into a body of flesh, just like yours and mine, but through His perfection, He broke the sting of death and took on His glorified body – so that we also could escape this restrictive body of sin – to be just like Him.
The Spirit of God lives in the spirit of man, the new man in Christ, which cannot sin, as John told us.
“Whoever has been born of God (the new man in Christ) does not sin, for His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin, because he has been born of God”.
Remember the many times you have fallen into sin?
But if we confess our sins, to Him, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 1John 1:9
Carnal or Spiritual
Your Soul that has the capacity to sin, and will continue to until we are with Him.
God’s means of delivering us from sin isn’t by making us stronger and stronger but by making us weaker and weaker.
God sets us free from the dominion of sin, not by strengthening our old man but by crucifying him; not by helping him to do anything but by removing him….by removing him from the scene of action.”
If Christ were not fully deity, He could not have paid the price for our sins. If Christ were not fully God He could not have broken the power of sin in our life.
The inward exercise of Romans Seven and the testing of the wilderness serve the purpose of teaching us what sin in the flesh is, and what is in our hearts; while such special discipline of the Father as Paul's thorn in the flesh is rather to protect us from the unalterable tendencies of the flesh.
We are conversant with man in death and sin and distance from the Father, for that is our state by nature; but to know the Man in glory, One in acceptance with the Father according to all His moral greatness, is new to us and magnificent.
God knows that our old sin nature makes it impossible to live as He wants us to live.
So the only way that we can live LIKE Christ is to have HIS LIFE IN US. But in order for His life to become OUR life, He first had to pay the penalty for our sin. And only He could pay that penalty, for only He was perfect and lived perfectly.
His death paid the price for the sin of the world – including your sin and mine.
His resurrection broke the power of sin in our life, for all that believe on His name. And because the power of death was broken in US, we have HIS LIFE IN US.
I write unto you, my little children, because your sins are forgiven you for His name’s sake.
1 John 2:12
Wrath of God
John knew these children were sinners, both in practice and by nature. He knew the blessings of forgiveness and grace of God were freely open to all, but he also knew the only sacrifice for sin rested on the spilt blood of the Lord Jesus. John knew He was wounded for our transgressions and bruised for our iniquities – for the wrath of God was poured out on Christ to pay that price for all sin.
His blood alone could pay the price for sin; all sin; every sin; secret sins; open sins.
His sacrifice alone could atone for sins committed and man’s inherent sin nature.
He alone could pay the price for sin : past sin; present sin; future sin.
He alone could atone for sin : sins of the body and sins of the mind – big sins; little sins; original sin, actual sin; every sin; all sin.
His Names Sake
Christ’s blood was shed for the remission of sin.
His death alone could satisfy the wrath of a holy God for the sin of the world – and your sins are forgiven you, for His name’s sake.
John drank deeply of the love and forgiveness of His Jesus, and so we read: I write unto you, my little children, because your sins are forgiven you – for HIS name’s sake.
Man’s Righteousness
Our righteousness is as filthy rags, says the Lord. My dress is ugly and stained, torn and dirty. Truth is hard to swallow. Truth is never flattering to human pride. Truth exposes the dirt and grim and sin of the true nature.
And we shrink from this description of our own, old sin nature.
I will exchange your death for My life – and I will exchange your sin, for My glorious righteousness'.
Christ Made Sin
For God hath made Christ Jesus to be sin for us.
The Lord of glory, Who knew no sin, was clothed in my filthy rags and He did this so that I, who have no robe of righteousness; no glorious dress and no fine attire… He did this so that I might bemade the righteousness of God in Him;so that I might wear the glorious garment of praise; so that I might be covered in the finest robes of glory.
Jesus: His given name: you shall call His name Jesus, for He shall save His people from their sins (Saviour) and Christ the anointed Messiah of God: His occupational name and title that announces His vocation (Messiah).
A name so inspiringly magnificent: for He shall save His people from their sins. A name so spectacularly awesome that it communicates His blessed calling; a name so stunningly majestic that at His name every knee will humbly bow – a name so astonishingly breathtaking and yet He chose me to be His bride.
Let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,Hebrews 12:1
There is no sin in such everyday tasks and necessary activities, but they can be weights, distractions, and stumbling blocks in our spiritual life.
Satan is relentless in his efforts to distract us from the Word, by all and every means, and apart from the sin of pride, there is no greater tool in his armoury than discouragement.
Important Focus
We are told to lay aside every weight and every distraction and fix our eyes on Jesus. We are reminded to set aside the sin of disbelief that so easily torments and frustrates us. We’re encouraged to run with patience the race set before us and keep Him in focus. We are clearly told to look away from the urgencies of life to the important One.
The practices of much of Christendom today, would have been regarded as disgraceful – and viewed with stunned shame in years gone by. The growth of sin in the corporate life of nations and the domestic life of individuals, causes one to tremble as one kneels at the feet of a Holy God.
Growing In Grace - STUDY
If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.1 John1:9
Maintaining Fellowship
How vital that believers know how to achieve and maintain sweet fellowship with God, and understand how this communion can be blocked by sin.
Sin is the Barrier
Walking in the light ensures fellowship with God.
Sin is the barrier that blocks our fellowship, while confession is the means to restore communion.
Remember: the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin 1 John 1:7 – past, present, and future, but confessing our sin restores us into fellowship with the Father.
Cleansing Blood
But how does the blood of Jesus cleanse all sin?
Well at rebirth, all our past, present and future sins were forgiven forever, and that’s grace.
But during our Christian life, we still fall into sin, and sin always separates us from a holy God.
God’s Standard
God’s standard for man is perfection, but only Christ is perfect, for all have sinned and fall short of His glory, Romans 5:12. Our murmurings and bitter thoughts are ‘sin‘ by God’s standard.
Our ungrateful hearts, fleshly irritations, lack of forgiveness and criticism of others fall far short of God’s standard, which grieves the Spirit and blocks our fellowship with the Father – and that requires us to confess our sin to Him.
Confession is simply telling our Father our sins.
The Bible says ‘confess’ your sins – which means ‘name’ your sins.
Consequences of Sin
His faithfulness guarantees forgiveness as well as a return to fellowship.
His righteousness means that there may be consequences that follow our sin.
Christ’s Forerunner
John had been called, before his conception, to be the forerunner of God’s Messiah. John was called as a voice in the wilderness – to proclaim forth the kingdom of God. John was anointed to call the people of Israel to repent – to return to their Lord God. John was to proclaim: Behold the Lamb of God, Who takes away the sin of the world. John 1:29.
A total identification with the oblation was pictured here – a full transferral of trespasses, as sins passed from the sinner to the sacrifice. The innocent animal was to die. The guiltless creature was offered in the stead of the sinner. The life of the sinless beast was thus to be fully accepted – fully accepted as the life of the sinful man.
Innocent for Guilty
And day after day the bloody ritual would signify covered sins for another day – a life for a life, which meant innocent death in order for the guilty to live.
But now Christ has died on Calvary having offered one sacrifice for sins forever.
All we needed to do was to identify ourselves with Him. All that was required was to trust Him as our Sin-Bearer.
Innocent Victim
By His sacrifice of death, we too are saved from death. By His spilled blood poured over our sins, we are redeemed by His blood, and by so doing He identified Himself with us – the sin-soaked, guilty malefactor; by so doing we were identified with Him - the pure innocent Victim.
My faith would lay her hand,On that meek head of Thine,While I a penitent I stand,And here confess my sin.
2-Way Identification
God’s grace united us with His death.. making His death full payment for our sins. Our faith identifies us with Him now.. making His sacrifice efficacious on our behalf. This is full identification with Him. This is a two-way identification… I in Him – and He in me. He identifies with me – a sinner worthy of eternal death.
identification means more. His death not only made possible the wonderful pardon by the transfer of sins.
Two Results
A man’s heart and soul may be perfected through suffering – or suffering may make that same man’s soul bitter and rebellious. For through suffering we come to an end of self – to the extremity of me – or, through that same suffering selfishness may increase as “I” takes control – and God, not the old sin nature is blamed for the problems and pain that engulf us.
Ideal and Actual
Such a model etches a rude distinction between the ideal and the actual. A life of noise and clamour; a life of darkness and disease; a life of pain and despair; a life of where the Lord seems distant; a life lacking love, joy and peace; a life of sorrows and sin; of sickness and sadness; deterioration and death.
Permanent Relationship
When we first believed in Jesus we were placed in a permanent relationship with Him. The old former life in Adam was forever replaced with our new, eternal life in Christ. We who were dead in trespasses and sins were made fully alive and given His life.
God made Him, Who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. 2 Corinthians 5:21
God’s Spirit
In past days God’s Spirit was sent to certain individuals... to anoint and to empower, but He also withdrew when His work was completed – or due to sin. Bezaleel was divinely empowered to do artistic work in the tabernacle of God.
So do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness.Romans 6:13
God sent His only Son to die on the cross to save us from the punishment of sin.
We can't save ourselves from the penalty of sin nor from the power of sin over our lives.
If we are a willing vessel God may choose to use our work or words or evangelising, but it is the Spirit alone Who convicts the world of sin, of righteousness, and judgement.
Trust in God
Indeed, we personally had a death sentence within ourselves, so that we would not trust in ourselves but in God. 2 Corinthians 1:9 So do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness.
The Holy Spirit indwells us and thereby accomplishes our sanctification - an adjustment of our personal lives to His own person and character, to the dropping away of sin's power over us and the implanting of His Christ-imparting attributes in us.
Israel’s King, Who would welcome everyone who turned round from their sin – into His kingdom.
Many flocked to identify with John, as increasing throngs joyously turned their lives around and plunged into the water as a sign that they too had repented of their sins.
Fully God
His Deity is demanded, for there is no other good enough to pay the price of sin. His Manhood in mandatory, for no other Days-man could redeem His brethren. This is the God-man, Who clothed Himself in flesh – the perfect sacrifice for sin. As fully God – He is the everlasting Son of the Most High God –He is uncreated and without beginning – of one Being with the Father Almighty.
Spirit of Comfort
From our introduction to this man of faith, he is saved – one whose sin is covered, and his triumphant call is … For I know that my Redeemer liveth… Job.19:25.
This one small act of trust brings us out of sin and into salvation; out of darkness into His perfect light; out of Satan into Christ in God; out of death into life; out of despair into hope – out of ashes into beauty.
First Love
In the beginning, the joy of sins forgiven was a mountain-top experience.
K.R.R.Y
K – Know your old man is crucified with Him –R – Reckon yourself dead unto sin –R – Reckon yourself alive unto God – through Jesus Christ our LordY – Yield yourself to God.Romans 6:3-14
For if we have been planted together in the likeness of His death, we shall be also in the likeness of His resurrection: KNOW this, that our old man is crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.
For he that is dead is freed from sin.
For in that He died, He died unto sin once: but in that He liveth, He liveth unto God. So RECKON ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, and also RECKON yourselves alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in the lusts thereof. Neither yield ye your members [as] instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but YIELD yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God.
For sin shall not have dominion over you: for you are not under the law, but under grace.
Rom.8:3. He came from His heavenly home, into complete union with man. He renounced His magnificent heritage, to come and share our lot. His task was to redeem sinful man from their sin. And in the power of the Holy Spirit it was so..
Born as Man
Without the likeness, there could be no rescue and no remission of sins, and yet the likeness was to be a sinless likeness, for the innocent must die for the guilty.
He came to be made sin like us, so that we one day could be like Him. He came to be with us – and He came to be like us..
But, however much God loved the world He must also judge the world, for the wages of sin is death – death – death to sin and death to the sinner.
God Made Man
Why – why do we have to believe on Jesus? Why believe on Him? Why not just believe on God the Father? Surely that’s enough? Is not the Father’s love great enough and sufficient to save us from our sins? No!
Fullness of Time
This was a non-negotiable Law that God Himself imposed upon man and sin, and In Genesis 3 we read that: the Lord God make coats of skins, and clothed them until that time…. (the fullness of time) for God is never late…
John 8:31. But these inflexible, religious Jews were slaves to sin and captive to their traditions. To these men, absolute Truth was shocking, appalling, scandalous – odious.
The needs generated by the realization of the sin of self produce the necessary motivation and hunger which cause us to focus upon the Lord Jesus and become conformed to His image.
Many a new believer has obtained relief in his conscience from his sins, because of faith in the Blood of Jesus Christ; that is, he does not see further than Romans 3.
For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death” (Rom 8:2).
To deal directly with sin brings certain defeat to the Christian.
Satan, sin, self, the world, and the law-all have been fully dealt with by the Lord Jesus on the Cross.
“It is not by renunciation, or effort, that we are morally apart from sin and self and the world, but by our death on the Cross with the Lord Jesus Christ.” “Believers today seek the blessing and power of Pentecost apart from a personal crucifixion with Christ, and the result is a counterfeit experience.
Trinity of Demands
“Therefore,” ….we are exhorted: therefore let us lay aside every weight, and let us lay aside the sin (of unbelief as demonstrated in earlier chapters) let us lay aside this sin which so easily ensnares us – lack of trust in God and let us run with patient endurance the race that is set before us…” But this trinity of demands has its focus on a person – the Lord Jesus, the Son of Man Let us look to JESUS….
Hebrews is not about salvation from sin, but the sanctification of the saved soul.
to pray for our enemies and those that are lost in their sins.
Throne of Grace
Christ’s death on the cross as the Sacrifice for sin tore down the unscalable wall of division that separated a holy God from a sinful race of men, and opened up, to all who would believe in His name, God’s eternal throne-room of grace: let us, therefore, approach God’s throne of grace with confidence and grateful hearts, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.
And both in the Garden of Gethsemane and on the cross we discover prayer to be the beautiful channel through which our Lord maintained unbroken fellowship with the Father (until that point when He became sin for us.)
On the death side, we are to receive deliverance from sin's power through the Spirit from the Cross; on the life side, we are to receive growth through the Spirit from the Lord Jesus.
The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death' (Rom. 8:2). -G.G.
For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death (Rom. 8:2).
Our flesh was so powerless to do good and so ready to do evil, that the application to us of God's holy law only gave sin an occasion to involve our enslaved members in open rebellion against the law.
So that even if a man loves God's law, as Paul did, he has no power to keep it; but sin only makes the law a constant means of working death to him, and the more a man tries to keep the law the more he comes under the power of sin.
The law is for the man who departed from God - that man has been removed from God's sight in the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, and I rejoice that now by the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus' I am free from the law of sin and death' (Rom. 8:2).
Even where in the new convert there is great singleness of heart and faith, with true love and devotion to the Saviour, time is needed for a deeper knowledge of the old man and sin, for a spiritual insight into what the Father's will and grace are. -A.M.
When we truly hate ourselves, we are prepared to rejoice in the blessed fact that we have been crucified with the Lord Jesus - that sin in the flesh was condemned (not forgiven) when He died unto sin, that our whole history as in the flesh closed before the Father in His Son's death - and that this is our title to be free.
I have now a righteous title to have done with myself because I have died unto sin in the Lord Jesus' death.
Your spirit:- that innermost part of your being; that deepest dimension of your nature; that was once alienated from fellowship with the Lord; that was once dead in trespasses and sins – that was once enslaved by Satan’s accusations..
With its ever-present outward link to this sin-sick world, that tramps the tempting dust and the seductive grime of earth’s pathways – with its deepest lusts through eye, or flesh, or pride of life – blameless.
He has in the first place rejoiced greatly in the forgiveness of his sins, and his acceptance by God; but sooner or later he begins to realise that all is not well, and that he has failed and fallen from the high standard from which he set himself to reach in the first flush of his conversion.”
Evan continues,
Is it, reckon yourself to be weak in reference to sin?
‘ Reckon yourself to be dead — (Romans 6:11) — dead indeed unto sin.’ Some believe they are very weak.
We must act on the fact that we are dead in reference to sin.
Old and New Life
At the same time, the old self endeavours to get down from the cross and resume control – and a battle ensues between the old sin nature and the new life in Christ.
Often a tug-of-war ensues between the old sin nature and the new life in Christ, but the old life and the new nature can never live in harmony with each other.
SECOND:- We are to renounce the besetting sin of unbelief, which has caused so many to stumble.. for what God requires of us all is that we have faith Him and trust His Word – for without faith in Him we are unable to grow in our spiritual life.
We need to renounce the sin of unbelief that was the downfall of the Israelites.
Fallen man comes to Jesus for salvation: for He shall save His people from their sins, Matt.1:21. As we abide in Him and He in us we are sanctified by His Spirit, for we are being conformed into His likeness.
The kingly line of Christ passed from Abraham to David, to Solomon to Joseph, the husband of Mary, who was commanded to call His name Jesus: for He shall save His people from their sins.
John the Baptist thundered: behold, the Lamb of God, Who takes away the sin on the world. John 1:29. Herod announced: behold the Man, John 19:5. and Jude reminds us that Enoch proclaimed, behold He comes with ten thousands of His saints.
to save us from our sins.
JESUS → your salvation, Who came to save you from your sins.
Would it not be more according to the Spirit of the Master, who said, Let him that is without sin cast the first stone, and He that is not against us is for us, if, as our instant reaction to every report, rumor, criticism, judgment, insinuation, innuendo, or whisper, we instantly asked the question, Is it true?
He may have to correct His saints for their sins, and where there has been no failure He may chasten (child train) them for their profit, that they may become partakers of His holiness; but all this is in love, not in wrath.
Identified With Christ
Everyone who hears the gospel and believes in Jesus is placed in Him immediately. Anyone who trusts God, to take care of all our sin, is immediately placed in Christ – dead to self and alive to Christ – identified with Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection.
By grace, the Spirit placed us in a position of union with Christ that will never be broken. By grace, we are identified with His righteousness because He identified with our sin.
the serpent stood for sin and death, and the bronze metal was illustrative of God’s judgement. Though he could not have understood the poignant significance of what was to happen on Calvary’s cross, in the days to come – Nicodemus must have recalled this conversation, when the sinless, Son of Man was cruelly lifted up on the cross, as the Law required – so that all who were bitten by the curse of sin could look – and live.
Guilty Sinner
He could not have understood there and then, that the full weight of all humanity’s sin was to be poured out over Jesus.
God’s Hatred of Sin
Although intimate fellowship with God is the right of all believers, it is hindered by sin.
God is also holy and has a hatred of sin, and a holy God will never fellowship when sin is present.
Broken Fellowship
Although we are forgiven sinners, and in unbreakable and eternal union with Christ, there are times when we fall into sin and every sin places a barrier between God and us.
And though the power of sin has been broken in our life at the cross, there are times when we fall into sin, causing our fellowship to be broken, and so here we discover ourselves to be in a ‘Catch 22′ situation.
Fellowship Formula
Every time we sin, fellowship is broken and needs to be restored and John outlines the fellowship formula for God’s disobedient children to be restored back into full fellowship and sweet communion with their Father.
Verse 8
Verse 8 reads:- If we say that we have no sin (and this is referring to the old nature), we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
I have fellowship because I have no sin ‘thing…’ This is saying I have no sin nature, or I have got rid of my sin nature.
This is saying my sin-nature no longer exists and I no longer sin.
It is wrong because while we are on earth, the sin nature is very much alive, and John is telling us that this attitude is self-delusion.
This is saying that we have managed to overcome forever the sin nature in our lives.
Verse 7
But John continues that we as believers can walk in the light, and in verse 7 we are given three steps:- First, if we walk in the light, as He is in the light. Second, we have fellowship one with another, and Third, the blood of Jesus Christ, His Son cleanses us from all sin.
Verse 9
Well in verse 9 we are given the one condition to cleansing:- Confess your sins: for if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:9
Darkness to Light
Though we may step into the shadow of darkness and sin, confession of our sins to our heavenly Father will cleanse us from all unrighteousness and draw us back into the shining light of His glorious presence.
Well, in and by the Cross we are delivered from ourselves; not only from our sins, but from ourselves; and being delivered from ourselves we are delivered into Christ, and Christ becomes far more than we.
Its terrible power, its secret and universal rule, and the blinding it exerts in keeping us from the knowledge of what it is, are the cause of all our sin and evil.
has set us free from the power of sin and death (Rom. 8:2, Wms.).
There is no strength or power in ourselves against the law of sin which is in our members.
The Father has left us as much dependent upon the Lord Jesus' work for our deliverance from the power of sin as for our forgiveness!
It is wholly because we died with Him on the Cross, both to sin and to the whole legal principle, that sin's power for those in the Lord Jesus, is broken. -W.R.N.
Have not some given up hope that words like I have been crucified with Christ,' the world is crucified to me,' baptized into His death,' dead unto sin and alive unto God in Christ Jesus' should have become truly intelligible and helpful?
Christ’s Life Within
The old sin nature of the old Adamic life must be crucified and remain on the cross.
Christlike Nature
It is not to be the old ‘ME’ but the new ‘ME’ that has supremacy in the life I live, so that it is not I that lives, but Christ Who in me Galatians 2:20… so that it is not the old sin nature but the new Christlike nature that develops – for ye are in Christ and ye are complete in Him. Colossians 2:10
The result is that where there is a shallow work in the soul they get lifted up with pride and conceit, and perhaps deceive themselves so far as to think there is no sin in them.
Suffering is due to other people’s sin or it may be self-inflicted but all suffering needs to be addressed.
Wisdom in God’s Word
While ever we live in this fallen world of sin and suffering we will face mounting pressures, but we have the written word of God and the indwelling Holy Spirit of God to guide our path and to guard our ways and Christ has promised that His grace is sufficient.
Depth of God Grace
The depth of God’s grace delivers whosoever will from the depravity and evil of sin.
For you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked, according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience.
Clothed in Righteousness
I am His by my own free choice – for when I was lost He could redeem me no other way, for I was dead in trespasses and sins.
All my sin and all my foolishness..
My Beloved
Let us, like them, lay aside every weight, and the sin of unbelief which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us: looking unto Jesus..
Let suffering come from any cause in the universe, if we give it over entirely into the hand of our Father, and sink ourselves into His blessed will, with the desire for Him to work His purpose in us, He will make every pain, every tear, every particle of our suffering work in us a death to sin and to the old man, and to all things on earth which will be for our highest development and for His glory. -G.W.
Separation – Death
This seems to be the point where He was made sin for us..
This seems to be the point that as the second Man, the last Adam, He was covered with our guilt, God hath made Him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him. 2 Cor.5:21
often building a perception of God based upon his culture and upbringing. But the heart of man has been deeply flawed by our sin-heritage, for the heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked Jer.17:9 We all unconsciously conceive God in our own imagery and thought. This is not only true of the natural man, who is dead in trespasses and sins – this is also true of each of us who are blood-bought sons of God. This is equally true of the spiritual believer as it is of the carnal Christian.
Grace upon Grace
As the mystery of lawlessness increases, so the mystery of godliness multiplies - grace; more grace; much grace – grace built upon more grace. 'For of His fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace.' John 1:16 'For where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, Romans 5:20 -pressed down; shaken together and running over.' Luke 6:38 We are to be lights in this darkest of age.
Spiritual Maturity
Suffering is not a question of sin, for Christ was made perfect through suffering. Christ, the innocent, sinless man was made perfect through suffering.
The law, instead of being a rule of life, is necessarily a rule of death to one who has a sin nature.
Far from being a delivering power, it can only condemn such; far from being a means of holiness, it is, in fact, and according to Paul, the strength of sin' (1 Cor. 15:56). -W.K.
We know God cannot look on sin and that our trespasses must be confessed to Him.
The burden for his People
As we look deep into Nehemiah’s being, we see a man with a heart-burden for his people. He not only knew the wrongdoings of his people but he grieved deeply at their sin.
Our dwelling place is in the light, not by reason of our subjective condition, but because the Lord Jesus has made the position ours by the putting away of our sins, and by bringing us to the Father. -H.F.W.
The heart must enter into something more than the look behind into those waters of judgment, out of which the Lord Jesus rose, having left our sins, and death, and judgment forever!
Oh wretched man that I am Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death? Thanks be to God, Who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord.Romans 7:25
Insufficient Law
The Law may be perfect and man may desire to obey the perfect Law of God, but it is insufficient to save a guilty sinner – and we discover it to be a ministration of death – for it tells us God’s standard for man, but then shows us that we can only fail. The Law may be good and spiritual and the born-again life in Christ may desire to keep God’s commandments – but the old sin nature is carnal and in bondage to sin. This is why Paul failed when he tried to keep the Law in the strength of his old fallen nature, which caused him to cry out:- Oh wretched man that I am!
Who will deliver me from this body of sin – and free me from this life that is dominated by death.
Natural Man
However hard man tries, it is impossible for him to keep the requirements of the Law. One only has to be born as a son of Adam to be condemned to death – eternal death. Natural man / unsaved man is dead in his sins and born under condemnation. No wonder the disciples asked Jesus in astonishment – Who then can be saved? No wonder Paul warned the Galatians of the Law’s restrictive nature, when he said: before faith in Christ was available to us, we were placed under guard by the law. We were kept in protective custody, so to speak, until the way of faith was revealed. Galatians 3:23
And the Law was described by Paul as a schoolmaster that was to point us to Him. That schoolmaster could instruct the natural/unsaved man how to live but could not change the sinful nature of its students – it could only impose a penalty for failure, and the wages of sin – the penalty for failure to keep the Law – was death.
Restrictive Measure
The Law though perfect, had no way to remove the death sentence – so death reigned from Adam’s fall to Moses and continued to rule from the time of Moses to Christ. The Law was God’s perfect tool to direct us to Christ so that we might be justified. But the Law can be equally problematic to the one that has been justified, for if one starts to live a Christian life under the restrictive measure of the Law of Moses or any self-imposed legalistic system, it can only be done by the old sin nature being guided by the lust of the flesh and not the new nature in Christ, that is led by the Spirit of God.
Old Sin Nature
Paul discovered, after his Damascus Road conversion, that trying to live the Christian life in the power of the old sin nature was doomed to failure, causing him to cry out… O wretched man that I am!
Way of the Cross
Paul had discovered the answer was Christ – the way of the Cross – the only Way. His elated cry was: thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord. And this is how it works!!! Christ lived a perfect life and by fulfilling all the requirements of the Law, He was able to go to the cross and become the one and only Sacrifice for the sin of the whole world. This broke the power of death in His life and hence Christ rose from the dead.
Open Secret
It was living his life, through the new-life in Christ, that was given to Paul – when he was born again, that was Paul’s open secret of how to live the victorious Christian life. It was living this new-life in Christ that broke the power of sin in Paul’s life. It was living this new-life in Christ that delivered Paul from the body of death. And it is living our Christian life, by means of the new born-again life of Christ in us, that will give you and me the victory over the power of sin in our lives too.
Cursed Creation
Everything that God made for man to richly enjoy was good – oh, so very, very good, but Adam’s sin caused the creation to be cursed and man lost His regal position.
Adam’s sin caused God to set in motion His eternal plan and purpose for humanity.
God intended to redeem man of his sins and restore him to his rulership position, but God intended to do much more for man – to provide him with so very much more.
God’s Purpose
God purposed His own Son would shed His innocent blood to pay the tremendous price for the sin of the entire human race – as God’s perfect Law required. God’s plan was not simply to restore man to his original position – where sins could be forgiven and a right standing between God and man could be restored.
Our old sin nature was dethroned and replaced with our new nature at rebirth.
Two Natures
For the rest of our lives, the old sin nature will seek to gain supremacy over the new.
Trying to 'be good' through the power of the old sin nature will never succeed.
God does not want us to dress up the old sin nature to look good – by self-effort.
Godly Nature
Our new life has been created in Christ’s righteousness and holiness of the truth. And the old sin nature does not want to be superseded by the new godly nature.
So many rest content with the thought that their sins are pardoned, and that they are in the path of life, but know nothing of a personal attachment to the risen Lord Jesus Christ as their life, or of faith that lives in the invisible and walks with the Father.
For the death which He died He became, once for all, dead in relation to sin; but by the life which He now lives He is alive in relation to God (Rom. 6:10, Wey.).
Romans Six is one of the most blessed portions of the New Testament, teaching us that our old man,' our old nature that is in us, was actually crucified with Him, so that now we need no longer be in bondage to sin.
But remember it is only as the Holy Spirit makes Christ's death a reality within us, that we shall know, not by force of argument or conviction, but in the reality of the power of an endless life, that we are in very deed dead to sin. -A.M.
In the same way you also must regard yourselves as dead in relation to sin, but as alive in relation to God, because you are in Christ Jesus (Rom. 6:11, Wey.).
That word, blameless,' may be translated unimpeachable' or unaccusable.' In other words, when we stand at last at the judgment seat of Christ, God Himself is going to see to it that no charge can stand against any believer, because the Lord Jesus Christ has atoned for all our sins with His own precious Blood.
Instead of my sins being between myself and Him, as before, it is Himself who is now between me and my sins; and the One who has thus interposed has given me to know that in the doing it He has brought me to Himself, and tuned my heart to His own praise.
He has borne the judgment due to my sins, and condemned sin in the flesh; in the Person of my Substitute I am clear from, and carried beyond, the judgment forever; the power of death is annulled, that of Satan finally broken.
Romans Six reveals our position as having died unto the principle of sin; Romans Seven teaches us our position as having died unto the principle of law.
You were set free from the tyranny of Sin, and became the bondservants of Righteousness (Rom. 6:18 Wey.).
Do not forget that you must stand firmly upon the specific truths: dead indeed unto sin - alive unto God in Christ Jesus' (Rom. 6:11).
So many of us are content merely that the Cross should be the power to save us from the penalty of sin, but death was not the end of the manifestation of Christ.
The Holy Spirit uses this revelation, along with what He exposes in his own heart, to teach him to abide in the Lord Jesus; safe from the sin of others, as well as his own.
Propitiation Price
It was in the heart of the Father from before the world began to redeem mankind. The propitiation price for sin was agreed – in the eternal council chambers of God. This was according to the eternal purpose that God has realised in Christ Jesus our Lord.
God’s Grace
Grace was in the heart of the Creator when God set the ransom price for man’s sin. Grace was in mind of God when God laid on Him the iniquity of us all. Blessed be the God and Father – Who made Christ sin for our sake.
God’s Glory
His Glory was in the mind of the Father when sin’s eternal sacrifice was selected. His Son was the one and only means to secure God’s satisfaction for sin’s payment. Blessed be the God and Father ..Who predestined us for adoption to sonship, through Jesus Christ, in accordance with His pleasure and will.
Therefore, He had to be like His brothers in every way, so that He could become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people.Hebrews 2:17
For we do not have a high priest Who is unable to sympathise with our weaknesses, but One who has been tested in every way as we are – yet without sin.Hebrews 4:15
The hypostatic union, combining the undiminished attributes of the Godhead with the perfect human nature of the Son of Man – became Jesus… Son of God and Son of Man, so that as our kinsman-Redeemer He would save His people from their sins.
Perfect Person
Christ had to be fully human in the same way that we are human – yet without sin, in order to become our kinsman-Redeemer.
Before His cross His incomparable, innocent life prepared the Lord Jesus to be our perfect Sacrifice – our kinsman-Redeemer – so that we could be saved from our sins.
His miraculous conception, His humble birth in Bethlehem – His simple life in the little town of Nazareth where He laboured as the Carpenter, all prepared our Lord Jesus for His work on the Cross and equipped Him to become God’s sacrifice for our sin.
Representative Man
He was tried and tested in all things in the same way that we are – yet without sin, so that He could represent each of His brothers and sisters to our Father in heaven, for He is our representative Man.
Our Sinless Brother
He connects with us at our point of need and listens to our helpless cries for we do not have a High Priest Who is unable to sympathise with our weaknesses, but One who has been tested in every way as we are, yet without sin.
You see, He had to be like His brothers in every way, so that He could become our merciful and faithful High Priest in service to God – so that He could make propitiation for the sins of the people – for your sins and for mine.
For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
In the same manner, sin has its own particular price and the wages of sin is death.
The just and fair deserts of sin is death – and death is the loathsome reward for sin.
Fair Reward
The just deserts of the sinner are not a negotiated salary but are ordained of God. No sinner will be unfairly treated, but all will receive the only fair reward for sin.. and the wages of sin for every sinner is death..
Faces of Sin
There are many faces of sin and different kinds of sin but every sin deserves death. There are open sins committed in the body and veiled sins that mature in the mind. There are hidden sins and visible ones, for man’s very nature is streaked with evil – and the just decree of a holy God is death – for death is the reward for sin.
Terrible Master
The terrible master of man is sin and man is the slave and servant of sin. This profound reality is a devastating truth that touches every strand of humanity – and every man deserves his due reward and each must be paid their just desert.
Pleasure of Sin
The pleasure of sin maybe sweet for a moment but its bitter taste is never-ending. The seeds of evil are vanity and the buds of iniquity bear the bitter fruit of sin, for the wages of sin is death….
Payment for Sin
The price for all sin was paid for in full by the blood of the sinless Lamb of God. The sins of the world were paid for by the blood that flowed from Christ’s veins – mystery of mystery that God’s own Son should die for me – and die for you.
And Christ received the wages for my sins and yours so we could be forever forgiven.
Total Righteousness
And His gift to all who trust on His name is a justifying righteousness:- regeneration; sanctification; glorification; a new creation in Christ, and the grace of God and peace with God, and faith and hope and love and joy, and the indwelling Spirit and a heavenly inheritance – and eternal life: for He washed us from our sins in His own blood, and hath made us kings and priests unto God and His Father, to Him be glory and dominion for ever and ever.
Redeeming Blood
The wages of sin is our due, but salvation is God’s gift to all who believe – and it comes singularly through the redeeming blood of Christ. Mystery of mystery that God’s own Son should die for me – and for you.
Penalty of Sin
But praise be to God that the penalty of sin was paid for in full – through the sacrificial death of Christ Jesus..
For the wages of sin is death, but Christ died for the sin of ALL.
He paid the price for the sin of ALL people, so that whosoever believes on His name should not be condemned – but have everlasting life.
Power of Sin
And glory to God for the power of sin was also broken in our lives and we have been set free from the dominion and mastery that Satan holds over the race of human-kind, for we no longer live under the requirements of the law – but have gained the freedom of God’s grace.
Through the perfect sacrifice of Jesus Christ, the second Man, we’ve been set free from slavery to Satan and to sin – and have become servants of our God.
Presence of Sin
And the wonderful hope that is set before us is that the presence of sin in our lives will be forever removed in the ages to come, when the Lord Jesus Christ – the last Adam, comes to take us to be with Himself into our eternal home – and we shall see Him as He is and we shall be clothed in glorified bodies – like unto His glorious body.
Fully Alive
When we first believed in Jesus we were placed in a permanent relationship with Him. The old former life in Adam was forever replaced with our new, eternal life in Christ. We who were dead in trespasses and sins were made fully alive and given His life.
You were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, and by the Spirit of our God. 1 Corinthians 6:11 Who made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. 2 Corinthians 5:21
Price for Sin
When the Lord Jesus died on the cross His death paid the price for all sin, so that all who believe on Him would receive forgiveness of sins and life everlasting.
Power of Death
His death is sufficient for it satisfied God’s judgement of sin, in your life and mine. His resurrection is sufficient for it broke the power of death in all who believe. Christ’s glorious sufficiency meets every need in this life and the one to come, and we are fully accepted by God for time and eternity, because of His sufficiency.
Revelation of Christ
Christ identified with us, so that we could be identified with Him. Christ became sin for us, so that we could be made the righteousness of God, in Him.
Lamb and Lion
He came to rescue us as our Good Shepherd, for we are sheep without a shepherd. He came as the perfect Lamb of God to pay the shocking price for sin – and He is coming as the Lion of the tribe of Judah – the victorious King of kings.
For He hath made Him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him (2 Cor. 5:21).
Romans Eight describes the experience of the believer who knows what it is to be in Christ, and who is being made free experientially from the law of sin and death by the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus.
God sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh' (Rom. 8:3).
Where sin brought us, love brought the Lord Jesus - even to death; and His death is the end before God of all that we were as children of Adam - men in the flesh.
Let us.. lay aside that besetting sin of unbelief, that defeated the children of Israel.
If we want to be like that great cloud of faithful witnesses who trusted God, let us lay aside every weight – let us lay aside that sin of unbelief which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with patient endurance the race that is set before us… Looking to Jesus.
Obedience is a necessary step towards being conformed into the image of Christ. Obedience frees us from the bondage of sin to the liberty of life in Christ Jesus.
Bondage or Freedom
Through disobedience, Adam fell, and we became slaves of sin and death.
Through obedience, Christ died for our sins and delighted to do the Father’s will.
In one, we were in bondage to sin. In the Other, we are made children of God.
We read in Romans chapter 6: Do you not know that if you present yourselves as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one you obey, either of sin resulting in death, or obedience resulting in righteousness?
a fellowship so blessed that we can commune with our Lord – and be one with Him – a communion so special that the blood of Jesus continues to cleanse us from all sin.
What was born in Job, blossoms throughout the God-breathed Word, as one by one, we see the same purifying process being perfected, in each saint… not as a punishment for sins forgiven, but a deeper understanding of God’s way.
The believer can thus, and only thus, have freedom from the tyranny of sin as he reckons himself to have died unto sin, and to be alive unto God as one alive from the dead.' He presents his body a living sacrifice unto God, and proves what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God.
The difference between stultifying carnality and growing spirituality is the believer's realization that he the sinner, as well as his sin, were taken down into death.
They do not realize the glorious truth that in that death they were delivered from this present evil world, from the dominion of sin and the law, and from the power of the enemy.
All believers see that the Blood of the Lord Jesus screens them from the judgment of God; but most do not as yet see that they are dead unto sin' in the Lord Jesus; that their old man was crucified with Christ'; that not only have their sins been put upon Him at the Cross, but they themselves, as sinful children of Adam, have been personally identified with Him in His death unto sin; that God pronounces them dead and risen with Him.
Pure Fellowship
We are to keep ourselves in fellowship with the Father and be effective in His army. We are to keep a short leash on our transgressions and sins as laid out in 1 John 1:9: If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
How vital to confess all areas where we fail in thought word deed and motive. How wise to confess our sins to our faithful and just God.
Trust
This is why it is crucial to trust God that we truly are accepted in Him. This is why it is paramount to maintain unbroken fellowship with the Father. In so doing we recognise our conscience and confess our sins.
Israel-Adopted Sons
They were the ones who were entrusted with the amazing Word and Words of God. They were adopted sons who were promised a wonderful earthly inheritance.. but they failed to do as God commanded which was to tell the nations about God – and Israel as a nation was to repent of her sin collectively, and turn to her Messiah. But Israel crucified her king and for a time God chose to work through the Gentiles.
He lived a life where the cruelty and brokenness of sin could never permeate.
He came to address the ruinous nature of sin in the lives of His children.
Our Sin
There is no sin so gross that He cannot forgive. There is no life so ruined that He cannot make whole. There is no heart so broken and fragmented that He cannot restore. There is no deep desire of your heart that He can’t fulfil. There is no lack of anything which He cannot supply in full.
To be perfect is to allow Him to address the ruinous nature of sin in the lives of His children – to let Him heal and bind up, so that we truly can be perfect as He is perfect.
We may be separated and yet not Christ-like; we may be orthodox and yet not spiritual; we may be dead unto sin' and yet not alive unto God.' We may have cut ourselves loose from every form of worldliness but in so doing we have become critical and self-righteous.
After years of reckoning with little or no deliverance from the dominion of sin, when you are just about to sink under the futility of it all, the Holy Spirit will turn your attention to the One who is your Deliverer.
God had determined in the eternal council chambers that He would create Man... and God in His infinite knowledge and understanding knew that man would sin.
Glorious Plan
God was not taken by surprise, nor was He fazed by sin’s entrance into the world.
The all-knowing God had already purposed the flow of history despite man’s sin.
New Creation
God could have obliterated humanity when sin was introduced into the world. He could have halted the human race before His creative work began, but He didn’t, for God looked down the corridors of time and chose each of us who’d become His Body.
He did not try to improve us or to change us by making our fallen, sin-nature better.
God still gave His new creation a free-will, but man also had an old sin nature.
The old sin nature meant that man could NEVER, EVER do what pleased God, but alongside the old sin nature was the new nature in Christ – the new life of Christ.
Imputed Sin Nature
NOW, think this through... Adam was created innocent and sinless – but had the capacity to choose NOT to sin. Adam could have chosen not to sin – He was ABLE not to sin but he chose to sin.
Adam chose to sin, and the sin nature from him passed on to all his offspring.
So now, every member of the human race has an imputed sin nature – from Adam.
Imputed and Inherent Sin
So things are very different for us. We are created new creatures in Christ – not innocent, but saved by grace through faith.
We commit sins.
We have imputed sin and we have inherent sin.
As sinners we do not have the ability not to sin because sin is a part of who we are.
Innocent and Sinless
The old life we still retain – the old, fallen sin nature is totally incapable.
It falls far short of the glory of God, and the wages of sin is death.
However, Christ was born innocent and sinless but also had the capacity not to sin.
Christ AS God – was NOT ABLE to sin.
God is perfect and sinless, and unable to sin.
Christ AS MAN was ABLE NOT to sin – but he COULD have sinned as a MAN.
Christ could have chosen to sin like Adam chose to sin – but Christ chose obedience..
What a privileged position! Those baptised into this position by the Spirit at rebirth are seen as perfect as Christ! Believers in Christ are forgiven their sins, and clothed in the righteousness of Christ.
In Acts 26:18 we read: by faith in Christ they may receive forgiveness of sins and a share among those who are sanctified, while in Romans 6:19 we read: just as you offered the parts of yourselves as slaves to moral impurity, and to greater and greater lawlessness, so now offer them as slaves to righteousness, which results in sanctification.
Unto Him that loveth us, and washed us from our sins in His own blood, and hath made us a kingdom of priests unto God and His Father, to Him be glory and dominion for ever and ever (Rev. 1:5, 6).
In-Adam
Every member of the human race was born in Adam – and that’s every single person. Everyone with a human mother and human father came to be – through natural birth. Every person was born with a sin nature and all have sinned – so all are condemned. And the consequences of this condemnation is death – eternal separation from God.
Romans 5:12-14
In Romans 5:12-21 Paul spells out our positional identification in Adam or in Christ:- When Adam sinned, sin entered the world.
Adam’s sin brought death, so death spread to everyone, for everyone sinned.
But it was not counted as sin because there was not yet any law to break. Still, everyone died—from the time of Adam to the time of Moses—even those who did not disobey an explicit commandment of God, as Adam did.
But there is a great difference between Adam’s sin and God’s gracious gift.
For the sin of this one man, Adam, brought death to many.
Romans 5:16-18
The result of God’s gracious gift is very different from the result of that one man’s sin.
For Adam’s sin led to condemnation, but God’s free gift leads to our being made right with God, even though we are guilty of many sins.
For the sin of this one man, Adam, caused death to rule over many.
But even greater is God’s wonderful gift of grace and His gift of righteousness - for all who receive it will live in triumph over sin and death through this one Man, the Lord Jesus Christ.
Romans 5:19
Yes, Adam’s one sin brings condemnation for everyone, but Christ’s one act of righteousness brings a right relationship with God and new life for everyone.
So as sin ruled over all people and brought them to death – now God’s wonderful grace rules instead, giving us right standing with God and resulting in eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Romans 5:12-21
it is the lifelong uniform of a believer in this world of suffering and sin.
One reason for powerless prayer is not applying 1 John 1 9 – by first confessing sins.
The veil of the Temple was rent from top to bottom giving access to the Father. What an amazing privilege we have as believers to petition the throne of heaven – but God wants all His children to stay in fellowship by admitting their sins to Him.
Prayer an Intercessions
When others harm me or cause pain me or falsely accuse me I pray, “Father forgive,” When I have sinned or discredited my Lord – I confess my sin at His heavenly throne.
As I sweep out the house, I pray that my heart be cleansed from all its impurities; I pray that the Spirit will search me and know my heart and identify my faults – I pray for unbelievers who are dead in sins that the Spirit convict the of their need.
God’s Plan
What God predestines are unchangeable plans made in His eternal council chambers. Christ was predestined to be God’s perfect sacrifice for the sin of the whole world. Paul was predestined before the ages, to speak God’s wisdom in a hidden mystery.
We think we shall not go far wrong if we say this has been the experience of almost every believer that has ever lived. Ironically, the condition of the old sin nature dictates that this will be the case. So much of a believers’ searching for the peace of God sinks into the pit of despair!
We are born with an old sin nature, which is an enmity With God.
Once that man becomes a believer he has two natures: 1) a gross, mature, arrogant sin nature and 2) a new little 'baby nature in Christ.
God not never no-how will change that old nature to become the new nature. God only will change, develop and conform our new, little baby nature, in Christ. That old sin nature (that old Adamic nature) the 'old man' must die, daily.
Being born again does not remove the old sin nature, but being born again does give the believer power over it.
Dying Daily
The old sin nature has to be crucified and remain in the place of crucifixion..
Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind: for he that hath suffered in the flesh is at rest from sin (Phil. 2:5, Wey; 1 Pet. 4:1m).
If we seek to deal with sin by reckoning at the moment it becomes an issue.
Our stand and attitude from the beginning of each day is to be a settled matter as we rest in our risen Lord Jesus: the death of the Cross separates me from the enslavement of sin and self, and I continually abide in my new life, Christ Jesus.
Sin is the gratification of self, but he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from the domination of sin.'
You are now in conflict with sin - not going along with it; you suffer in the flesh, and have ceased from the practice of sin. -C.A.C.
Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! (John 1:29 NIV).
What is the sin of the world?
You may not think so; you may not see it: but I would ask you to consider again and see if all that is called sin cannot be traced to this, if it is not this in some form of expression.
The Spirit convicts us of sins that we may be convinced of God’s cleansing.
How can I do so, some may be saying, as my sorrow is the fruit of my sin?
If it was suffering for righteousness' sake, then I would, but I am suffering for my sin; and can I, in the integrity of my heart towards God, take my sorrows to Him, knowing I deserve them?
There has been perfect atonement for all my sins; Christ has been judged for them.
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 (1 John 1:7).
It may come in the way of difficulties in the path of faith; or in the shape of such trials and sorrows as are common to all men - loss of property, loss of health, or bereavement; or it may be as the governmental consequences of sin; but in one way or other all have it.
Even when we were dead in sins, God has quickened us together with Christ, (by grace you are saved)Ephesians 2:5
Carnal Creatures
We were rotten through and through – at enmity with our Creator God and Saviour. We were carnal creatures with degrading desires – with fleshly propensity to filth. We were sin-soaked in trespasses and on the way to an eternal separation from God.
Deserving of Wrath
We were sinners by our actions and attitudes – imputed with sin and inherently sinful.
We were dead in our sins, disobedient to God and deserving of wrath and judgement.
Reality of Sin
Isaiah’s description of backsliding Israel is equally illustrative of what we used to be: From the sole of your foot to the top of your head, there’s no soundness evident — only bruises, sores, and festering wounds, that haven’t been cleaned out, or bandaged, or treated with oil.” Isaiah 1:6 No!
He has not dealt with us as our sins deserve, or repaid us according to our offences, for as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His faithful love toward those who fear Him. Psalm 103
We were physically alive but dead in our sins – spiritually separated from God.
Saved by Grace
Even when we were dead in trespasses and sins God quickened us; He made us alive; He gave us spiritual life together with Christ, and raised us up to heavenly places and gave us every spiritual blessing.
Just as a sinner is taught to rest in the Lord Jesus' shed Blood for his forgiveness, so must the saint rest in the Lord Jesus for his deliverance from the power of sin and the grip of the law - yes, and from himself, also.
Therefore we should not be in bondage to sin, for he that hath died (and that is everyone who is in the Lord Jesus) is justified (or released) from (the power of) sin' (Rom. 6:7); and we are now under grace, which does not demand righteousness of us, for the Lord Jesus was made unto us righteousness and sanctification and redemption (1 Cor. 1:30).
But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members (Rom. 7:23).
For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death (Rom. 8:2).
Any time there is effort involved in the matter of resisting sin, we can be sure that we are depending to some extent upon the flesh, instead of resting in the finished work of the Cross.
The question is How are we to meet sin?' Reckon yourselves dead unto sin.' The moment that you begin to fight with it - no matter how resolutely you may struggle against it - that moment you begin to experience sin as your master.
For it is then that we forsake our true position, which is one of freedom from sin as a master.
Let us be fully abiding in the One who is Life, and sin when it acts, will find us dead to it. -E.H.
We shall never know the fact of the Lord Jesus' victory in our lives until we are prepared to count upon His work on the Cross as the source of our personal freedom from the dominion of sin and the old man within.
Voice of Warning
We are to be God’s voice of warning to a lost world that is dead in their sins. We are to be ambassadors of the Lord, entrusted with a ministry of reconciliation.
Eternal Significance
God made peace with us by grace, through faith in the one perfect sacrifice for sin, and we are entrusted with a holy office – entreating the world to receive salvation.
The former, to recognise they are a sinner and need a Saviour; the latter to confess their sins and return back into fellowship with God.
The former to turn from their sins and to have peace with God; the latter to return from their transgressions back into fellowship with Him.
Sin-Offering
Christ, Who knew no sin, was made SIN so that sin in its entirety was dealt with. He did not become a sinner – He became SIN, so that we could be clothed in His righteousness. He was made a Sin-offering; a sacrifice for the sins the world committed – so that sinners who believe in Him would not perish but be reconciled to God.
Work of God’s Spirit
He convicted us of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment.
Moment by moment we understand that His grace is all-embracing. God does not deal with man according to his sins, He does not reward us according to our iniquities. Psalm 103:10
We have no longer conscience of sins before God, because He Himself has taken them away before His eyes; we know that being united to the Lord Jesus Christ, who has fully glorified God in that which concerns our sins, we have been made the righteousness of God in Him.
It is as knowing the Lord Jesus to be precious to our souls, with our eyes and hearts being occupied with Him, that we will be effectually kept from being taken up with the vanity and sin around.
And this too will be our strength against the sin and corruption within.
Whatever I see in myself that is not in Him, is sin.
It is not in thinking upon my own sins that will humble me, but thinking of the Lord Jesus and dwelling upon the excellencies in Him.
We are entitled to forget ourselves - we are entitled to confess and forget our sins - we are entitled to forget all but the Lord Jesus.
You were set free from the tyranny of sin (Rom. 6:18, Wey.).
Believers may be in bondage because of deception or ignorance of the full scope of their inheritance in the Lord Jesus, or because they have not, according to Romans 6:11, reckoned themselves dead to sin and alive unto God in Jesus Christ our Lord. -F.J.H.
He grasps the rescue rope flung to him by the right hand of Omnipotence, and with humble thankfulness sets out to learn how he can reckon himself dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God in Jesus Christ our Lord.
The believer will not be ready to enter into his spiritual rest until he is utterly worn out by his unsuccessful efforts to conquer sin and the old man.
For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, it is much more [certain], now that we are reconciled, that we shall be saved [daily delivered from sin's dominion] through His [resurrection] life (Rom. 5:10, Amp.).
When death has exceeded every other evil power sin, suffering, sorrow, and destruction, then God's unique and exclusive answer is the only hope, and the one answer.
Changeless Character
God gives us simple instructions and yet they are diametrically opposed to man’s logic and the sin nature, for our fleshly sin nature is in conflict against God’s Spirit and the wisdom of this world is foolishness to God, but if we don’t know His character and His plan for humanity, how can we trust Him?
John 16:33 Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution in this world. 2 Timothy 3:12 Satan has blinded the hearts of those that are perishing and lost in their sins, but the venom of Satan’s spiritual realm is specifically targeting two creations – Israel – the old creation in Jacob; and the Church – the New Creation in Christ.
And through Christ we have receive the law of the Spirit of life, which has freed us from the power of sin that leads to death.
Chapter 5: the glories of trusting Christ, contrasting the old life under law with the new life under grace, and Chapter 6: as slaves of Christ we are no longer slaves to sin and death.
The reason most Christians have to go through the Romans chapter 7 experience, is by living under the wrong law – living under the destructive law of sin and death rather than the liberating law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus.
A Beautiful Understanding
It is only when a believer comes to the point of true wretchedness of soul and inner brokenness and despair, that in desperation he is able to cry: who can deliver me from this body of sin? Only then can he come to an understanding that of himself he can do nothing, but that in Christ I can do all things..
Fully Man
Were Christ not fully man He could not have redeemed humanity; broken the curse of sin and death; imputed believers with His own righteousness; given us eternal life and reunited us forever with God the Father our Creator.
But Christ is both the Root and the Offspring of David breaking forever the curse of sin and death – and imputing on all who believe His own perfect righteousness – giving us eternal life and reuniting us forever with God – our Father and Creator.
He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.2Corinthians 5:21
Dead in Sin
We are not sinners because we sin.
We sin because we are sinners.
My pride wants to say I am a good person, but God sees me as I am – a sinner; born dead in trespasses and sins; born with an inherent sin nature; born in enmity with the Father; born in desperate need of a Saviour.
But as the authorised leader under God’s authority, it was Adam’s responsibility – and Adam choose to join her in sin, and fellowship with his Lord was severed.
Sin Nature
Adam chose to disregard God’s word of truth, which is rebellion against God, but the day of his disobedience was the day man’s sin nature became a reality – for the seed of the man became tainted with sin and his progeny are tainted with sin. We are not sinners because we sin – we sin because we are sinners. We sin because we are born of Adam’s sinful seed, dead in sins – estranged from God.
Eternal Separation
The federal head chose to sin, unaware of the eternal consequence of his choice, for the wages of sin is separation and so all his seed were condemned to damnation. Adam was created for fellowship with the Lord but sin separated his spirit from God.
Rescue Strategy
We are not sinners because we sin – we sin because we are a race of sinners.
Sinless Sacrifice
God alone is good, so God alone could save – but God is Spirit and man is flesh, and only a perfect Man could reach God on behalf of sinful, sin-infected man.
Only a sinless sacrifice, willing to die for His people, could pay the price for sin.
He made Him, who knew no sin, to be sin on our behalf – so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. 2Cor5:21
God, Who alone is righteous became the only righteous man that ever lived, for the rest of humanity are sinful, sin-infected people.
He alone was the only One Who could pay the price for sinful, sin-infected man and the many sins that each sinful man committed.
And so the One who knew no sin – the One Who did not sin, HE BECAME SIN on our behalf, and the wrath of God was poured out on Him in full measure – upon that sinless God-Man, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. 2Cor.5:21
When we do not abide in Him, our own fleshly acts are not acceptable to God, for the flesh works in us, both to will and to do for our own evil satisfaction – such are the unrighteous acts of our old sin nature.
Righteous acts don’t have their source in my old sin nature but in the new life in Christ: for in myself I can do no good thing, for all my righteousness is from the Lord… not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ – the righteousness which is from God by faith.” Philippians 3:9
Christ’s Followers
Christ also had a great following of disciples – those who were learning from Him. We read of 12 disciples and many women – secret disciples, like Joseph of Aramathea. Some who were called disciples were believers and others did not believe in Him. Some believed He was the Son of God like Peter, and were saved – some didn’t believe, like Judas, and died in their sins.
John even wrote his gospel to show that Jesus, the Word made flesh and Son of God, is the Messiah, Who died for our sins so that we might live, by simply believing on Him.
Just remember this: any victory over the power of any sin whatsoever that you have to get by working for it is counterfeit.
Our hope for freedom from the power of sin is not Christ plus my efforts,' but Christ plus my receiving.' To receive victory from Him is to believe His Word that solely by grace He is, this moment, freeing us from the dominion of sin.
It is wholly because we died with Him on the Cross, but unto sin and unto the whole legal principle, that sin's power for those in Him is broken.
And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath He made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses (Col. 2:13).
And above all things have fervent love for one another, for “love will cover a multitude of sins.”1Peter 4:8
Sin Separates
What is in a name?
But what of sin?
Some would argue that a SIN out of sight is a sin out of mind.
Others place overwhelming import on one sin..
Most of us are conditioned to point our index finger, at the overt sin we see in society, without seeing the three curling fingers pointing inwards to ourselves – to the covert sin hidden deep within our heart.
Sin is Toxic
The central letter of that little word S-I-N is “I” = “ME” = “MYSELF”. That hidden, secret sin is laid buried deep within the very being of man.
That furtive sin, which seeps like a toxic poison into the very soul of man; that private sin concealed from all others bites at the very heart of man..
The clandestine sin that feeds one's ego so satisfyingly, separates us from God..
Sin of Pride
The first sin committed by the exulted heart of the anointed cherub was one of pride. The arrogant, “I wills” of a falling angel who sought to elevate him to the status of God.
The “Eye” of Sin
And yet this sin we so despise in this precocious angelic being, can ofttimes be the downfall of the most gracious saint. It can stain the garments of the most kindly heart, for a proud look or haughty eyes is identified as one of the six things that God most hates in us.
This hateful crime of pride is ofttimes couched within the ‘eye‘ of SIN.
as I seek to discover the awful truth about my own faults and failings, I need to turn to the Spirit of grace and truth and cry out as did King David:- Search me and know me, cried the man after God’s own heart, cleanse me from my secret faults – my sin, know my heart: Try me, and know my thoughts.” Psalm 19:12
At this critical time in our spiritual walk, when the Lord is at the very door. We would do well examine ourselves as never before. We need to see if secret sins have crept deep into our hearts. SEARCH ME OH GOD.
for only a true descendant of the physical seed of Abraham could go to the cross as the perfect Man, Who would shed His sinless blood – to save His people from their sins.
Cloak of Pretence
Is your ‘old man’ crucified on the cross? Is your ‘old sin nature’ nailed to the tree? Are you allowing the ‘new man in Christ‘ to be daily conformed into His image?
How often our old sin nature climbs down from that crucified position.
This old sin nature is the tool that Satan uses most frequently against a believer.
One may have stolen from a loved one to furnish a hidden sin or craving..
Not Guilt
Sins are forever forgiven at the point of salvation.
Work of God
Jesus said: this is the work of God, that ye believe on Him whom He hath sent.” John 6:29 Believe in Him for the forgiveness of your sins – believe Him that through life’s trials you are being changed into his likeness..
Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for His seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.1 John 3:9
The power of sin and death in the lives of all believers was broken forever at the cross, and so we are enabled to live a life of holiness – a life that is “set apart unto God”.
Born-again Life
When we were reborn, we received a brand new baby life – our new life in Christ, but the old sin nature will remain in our dying bodies until we are glorified – until Christ comes to take us home to heaven.
But the old nature seeks to regain supremacy over our new life in Christ. Only the new, born-again life that is positioned in Christ is positionally sanctified – and Only that new born-again life in Christ can be progressively or practically sanctified. The old sin nature is incapable of godly living.
The old sin nature is incapable of being sanctified.
Sinless Perfection
It was John who said that whoever abides in Christ does not sin – nor can sin. This has nothing to do with the erroneous teaching of “sinless perfection..” This verse simply refers to the new life in Christ – the new life does not sin. The sinless life of Christ that is imputed to all believers, does not sin..
Old Sin Nature
However, the believer who does not abide in Christ, and has not set their life apart unto God will live from the source of the old sin nature, which can do nothing but sin!! The believer’s old sinful life can never be sanctified, for it is riddled with sin. There is nothing in the old sin nature that is acceptable to God and any attempts to set apart our old sin nature unto God will utterly fail. Until we go to be with the Lord, both the old sin nature and the new life in Christ are in bitter conflict – for the spirit lusts against the flesh and the flesh against the spirit.
Crowd of Witnesses
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses, who lived by faith – such as Joshua and the Israelites who obediently did all that God commanded them to do... let us like them obey what God has asked us to do, which is to strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up – the sin of unbelief….
We are those who accept Christ as their only hope for deliverance from sin and death.
God’s seal is an expression of our certain deliverance from sin and death.
Seal of Certainty
God’s seal is an expression of the certainty of our protection from evil. God’s seal is an expression of the certainty of our promised inheritance. God’s seal is an expression of the certainty of His ownership of our lives, for we are His purchased possession – bought with the blood of Jesus Christ – Who bought us with His own blood... Who bore our sins in His own body and Who redeemed us from the curse of the law and became our purchase price.
Christ died for our SINS according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures.1 Corinthians 15:3
Knowing this, that our old man has been crucified with Him in order that the body of SIN might be annulled, that we may no longer serve sin as slaves.Romans 6:6
Two Fundamentals
There is too little emphasis and understanding on the difference between SINS and SIN. Both are fundamental problems in the life of a believer, but there is a solution to both.
It is vital that we come to an understanding of the difference between SINS and SIN.
SINS are individual transgressions carried out against God, in thought, word or deed.
SIN or the SIN NATURE is an inherited power within that causes us to sin against God.
We require forgiveness FOR our sins.
We require deliverance FROM our sin, but both forgiveness and deliverance are found in the cross of Christ.
FOR our SINS
In 1 Corinthians we read that Christ died for our SINS – He paid the price for our sins.
Every transgression in action or attitude are sins for which Christ died on the cross.
Every sin we ever commit falls into the category of SINS – sins that we have committed.
Transgression in thought, word, or deed are sins against God, and need forgiveness.
Confessed SinsSins are wrong actions we carry out.
Sins are ungodly attitudes that mar our witness. When believers sin we should immediately confess that particular sin to the Father – and God is faithful and just to forgive our sins and cleanse us from unrighteousness. In 1 John 1:7 we read that the blood of Jesus Christ, His Son, cleanses us from all sin. Every sin we carry out is a violation against God – and it needs to be confessed.
Forgiveness of sins
But God in His love and justice has provided a solution for the sins we commit.
The remedy God has provided for the SINS we commit – is forgiveness of sins – but they can only be forgiven when an innocent sacrifice dies in our stead.
Christ’s innocent blood was God’s required purchase price for the forgiveness of sins, and the only way to access God’s forgiveness of sins – is to believe on Christ.
Sin Nature
Then there’s the issue of SIN – the problem of sin; the principle of sin; the power of sin.
Sin in the singular, has to do with the controlling power that sin has over our lives.
Sin in the singular relates to the sin nature – that was passed to all men via Adam.
Imputed Sin
An inherited sin nature is imputed sin; 'the old man'.
which is passed to all humanity, but God in His love and grace has provided a solution for the old sin nature, in Adam – and the solution is to be taken out of Adam and placed into Christ – by faith: for as by the one man’s disobedience (Adam) the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience (Christ) the many will be made righteous. Romans 5:19,
Deliverance FROM Sin
The remedy that God has provided for SIN is deliverance through crucifixion. The old sin nature is cut off at the place of death – as we remain 'in Christ'.
The problem, principle, and power of sin is also dealt with at the cross: knowing this, that our old man has been crucified with Christ in order that the body of SIN might be annulled, that we may no longer serve sin as slaves Romans 6:6
Placed in Christ
When we were born again, we were placed in Christ – baptised into His body. When we were born again we were moved from being 'in Adam' to being 'in Christ.' When we were 'in Adam' we were imputed with Adam’s old sin nature, but when we were reborn 'into Christ' we were imputed with His righteousness. Sin shall not have dominion over you, for ye are not under the law, but under grace. Romans 6:14
New Creatures
When Christ died on the cross, we were 'in Him' – and our old self was also crucified. Our sinful self was crucified with Christ, so sin lost its controlling power in our lives.
Christ gained power over sin and death in our lives, when He died and rose again, because we are new creatures in Christ we are no longer in slavery to sin.
Cross of Christ
The problem, principle, and power of sin in our lives, was dealt with at the cross. Because we were crucified with Christ, we are set free from sin’s vice-like power. We require forgiveness for our SINS – and it is PAID IN FULL. We require deliverance from our SIN – and it is PAID IN FULL. Both forgiveness and deliverance is found in the cross of Christ.
By Grace Through Faith
It is by grace that we have received forgiveness of our sins. It is by grace that we have been delivered from the power of sin . Remember:There are 2 fundamental SIN problems, but BOTH are dealt with at the cross of Christ. It is by grace through faith in Christ that we appropriate forgiveness – of SINS. It is by grace through faith in Christ that we appropriate deliverance – from SIN.
Under the pressure of life and burden of sin, the troubled soul seeks holy solitude.
Make no excuse for your failings and sin, but confess: for if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:9
He struggles to curb his sins and tries to live righteously.
Our sins are dealt with by the Blood, but we ourselves are dealt with by the Cross.
There is much prayer for revival,' and much effort for the deepening of the spiritual life.' The only answer to this is a new knowing of the Cross, not only as to sins and a life of victory over them, but as to Christ as supplanting the natural man. -T.
A Study:- Man’s Nature and Destiny
The Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit convicts us of sin, but we can resist Him. The Holy Spirit guides us into all truth, but we can grieve Him. The Holy Spirit achieves His purpose through us, but we can quench Him. The Holy Spirit feeds us with His healing words of life, but we can neglect it – but in all our life and in all our pain, He is never far from us.
Silent in Love
The Holy Spirit convicts us of sin, but we can resist Him.
When the Corinthians were brought into the Church they left behind their obvious sins, but they carried over into their new realm the old, natural ways of thinking and reasoning which belonged to the world and not to the Spirit of God.
Some think the sins of their youth have been translated into their present pain.
Satan has sabotaged God’s beautiful creation and made it into a sin-sick world – and malicious, malevolent Satan means it for evil against you – and all God loves.
Nehemiah and Daniel
Nehemiah wept in prayer over Jerusalem, repenting of the sins of his nation, and Nehemiah reminded God of His promises to His people.
Daniel interceded for the city of Jerusalem, identifying with the sins of his people Israel – and Daniel pleaded with God that past prophecies should come to fulfilment.
That His death procured the payment of sin's debt, so that the debt being paid, the believer might be in a position to keep the law, and that, accordingly, the law, and not the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus,' might be the believer's rule of life. -H.F.W.
The Word of God is the only standard of how a Christian is to mature. 1 Peter 2:1 tells us that laying aside all malice, all deceit, all hypocrisy, all envy, and all evil speaking, you will grow and in very simple language, this means, that putting all sin away or choosing not to sin will cause us to grow.
But when we do fall into sin John comes to the rescue: for if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:9.
Desire the Milk
The apostle Peter tells us that a little baby has a great appetite for nourishment and believers likewise should desire the pure milk of God’s Word, which will result in growth: Therefore, laying aside all sin, as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the Word, that you may grow thereby. 1 Peter 2:2. Every believer starts their Christian life on the way to maturity, but Hebrews warns us that many fall by the wayside due to life’s circumstances; feelings; wrong doctrine; lack of teaching or biased perceptions.
Fellowship God
However all the apostles of Christ beseech us to lay aside sin; to confess our sins; to grow in grace and to walk in the light, so that we can prevent our growth from becoming stunted and enjoy sweet fellowship with Father.
Walk in the Light
For if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.
As our Substitute He went to the Cross alone, without us, to pay the penalty of our sins; as our Representative He took us with Him to the Cross, and there, in the sight of God, we all died together with the Lord Jesus.
The Holy Spirit so unites us to Christ that Christian experience becomes a reproduction in us of the essential facts of Christ's fourfold revelation He died unto sin: with Him we died (Col. 2:20).
Paul’s Discovery
There was a time in Paul’s life when he did not know or appropriate this truth – for in Romans chapter 7, Paul himself cried out Oh wretched man that I am… who shall deliver me from this body of sin – and Paul discovered the answer – I thank God!
Prophesied Redeemer
Had the Lord Jesus been anything but fully human, many of the prophecies of Scripture would have remained unfulfilled for only as man’s Kinsman-Redeemer, Who was like unto His brothers in every way – (and yet was without sin), could the Lord Jesus Christ have become our Saviour, and obediently carry out the demands of a holy God, in submission to His Father – and in so doing give His life as a ransom for many.
and that His adoptive father was to call His name Jesus, for He shall save His people from their sins.
But it required Him to become the willing sacrifice for sin – for the sake of all sinners.
Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey.. either slaves of sin, which leads to death – or slaves of obedience, which leads to righteousness?
We are to put off all sin, which hinders maturity, and we are to confess our sin to maintain fellowship God.
Under Grace
Paul reminds us that in this church dispensation: you are not under the law, but under grace, Romans 6:14 and warns us:- do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God..
In very simple language we are, to lay aside all sin..
to put all sin away, which is achieved by living, walking and growing in grace – by becoming more like Jesus.
We are to put off all sin, which hinders spiritual growth, and remain in fellowship with the Lord, by keeping a short reign on our sins – i.e.
by quickly confessing any sin we commit, to our Father in heaven.
I praise Thee, Lord,For cleansing me from sin;Fulfil Thy Word,And make me pure within.Fill me with fireWhere once I burned with shame;Grant my desireTo magnify Thy Name.
therefore … let us strip off the sin which so easily ensnares us”Hebrews 12: 1
Run the Race
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles.
Hebrews 12 gives instructions on how to become a witness that lives by faith as well - lay aside every weight -lay aside the sin which so easily ensnares us, and run with endurance the race that is set before us.
One Sin
We must strip off all encumbrances that weigh us down and shackle us to this world.
We are to put away all that diverts us away from faith in God and trust in Christ – and we are then directed to strip off the one sin, which so easily ensnares us.
Besetting Sin
But what is this one sin that so easily ensnares us all?
Many erroneously assume that it is some sin in their life with which they struggle.
Many search their hearts to discover a particular sin they think is their specific sin.
Men have lived a lifetime – trying to identify and lay aside their own ‘besetting’ sin.
The book of Hebrews clearly identifies the sin that does so easily beset us.
The sin that so easily ensnares us all is a lack of trust in God.
The sin that hinders our Christian life and our walk with the Lord is a lack of faith.
Trust in Christ
The sin that trips us up and clings so closely is unbelief – as exemplified in Israel, for without faith it is impossible to please God.
Hebrews 12:1 The besetting sin of so many maturing believers is a lack of faith in God’s Word, because the focus of so many believers is trust in self and not trust in Christ.
the One of Whom ALL scripture speaks and points to. Christ is the Great High Priest – the One and Only Perfect Sacrifice for sin. Christ, it the Majestic King, the Eternal King, the Righteous King, the Anointed King.
We know that our old sinful selves were CRUCIFIED with Christ so that sin might lose its power in our lives.
We are no longer slaves to sin.Romans 6:6
Romans 5 and 6
In Romans chapter 5 we are told that sin is dealt with by the BLOOD of Christ. In Romans chapter 6 we see that sin is dealt with by the CROSS of Christ. In Romans chapter 5 the BLOOD of Christ removes us from the penalty of our sins – we are forgiven by the shedding of Christ’s blood. In Romans chapter 6 the CROSS of Christ removes us from the power of sin – we are delivered of sin’s power because we are in Christ – identified with His cross.
Unsaved Sinner
The unsaved sinner is the one that is justified by the blood of the Lord Jesus. We are justified and made righteous by the remission of our sins through Christ’s blood.
It is the shedding of Christ’s blood alone that has the power to forgive our sins, for the blood of Christ is the required payment for the sins of the sinner.
We are no longer under the curse of sin for the wages of sin have been paid in blood.
Saved Believer
The saved believer is the one that is delivered from sin’s power by the cross of Christ.
Our union and identification with Him, breaks the power of sin at the cross. It is the cross of Christ that breaks sin's power in us, through identification with Him.
It is this identification of the believer with Christ that severs the power of sin in our life.
Our identification with the cross of Christ breaks the inherent power of sin in a believer. We are no longer under slavery to sin for it was broken by the power of the cross.
Both the forgiveness of sins and deliverance from sin are gifts of grace to all believers – and we appropriate both forgiveness and deliverance by faith in Christ's sacrifice.
Sin & SinsThe cross of Christ is the remedy for sin – our sin nature. The blood of Christ is the remedy for sins – sins we commit.
Producer & ProductThe cross of Christ deals with the producer of sin.
The blood of Christ deals with the product of sins.
Cause & EffectThe cross of Christ sorts out the cause of sin in our lives – the sin nature. The blood of Christ sorts out the effect of the sin nature – the sins we commit.
Root & FruitThe cross of Christ severs us from the root of sin – the essence of sin. The blood of Christ disposes of the fruit of sin – the acts of sin.
Tendency & ExhibitsThe cross of Christ deals with our tendency and disposition towards sin. The blood of Christ deals with the exhibits of sin through our acts and attitudes.
Nature & ManifestationThe cross of Christ deals with our inherited sin nature – The blood of Christ deals with the manifestation of our inherited sin – our sins.
Justified and Delivered
Now that we have been justified by his BLOOD, how much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. We know that our old sinful selves were CRUCIFIED with Christ so that sin might lose its power in our lives.
Forgiveness of Sin
No-one who isn’t covered, cleansed, redeemed, forgiven, born again can overcome.
For without the blood of Jesus, there is no forgiveness of sin, and without the blood of Christ, there is no communion with God.
Overcoming the Enemy
Without the blood of Jesus, no one can defeat Satan, sin, and death.
The blood of Jesus is often only seen in the context of forgiveness of sins, but there is more that this cleansing flood has achieved in a believer’s life.
Horn of Salvation
The prophets foretold of the coming Messiah King, Who would destroy the enemies of Israel, sit on the throne of His father David – and deliver His people from their sins.
Kingdom of God
Jesus had been with the disciples for three wonderful years, but He was leaving. He was to return to heaven after He had paid the full price for the sin of the world. The disciples knew He was their Messiah.
For the growing believer it means daily crucifixion, and at the same time freedom from the penalty and the power of sin and self.
As this great principle opens up to us, it will help us to understand how in our life, and in our fellowship with the Lord Jesus, it is impossible for us to share the fulness of His life until we have first in very deed surrendered ourselves every day as having died to sin and the world.
Crucified with Christ
The old sin nature, which can demonstrate wicked ways, was crucified with Christ.
The old sin nature, which can also display religious piety, was crucified with Christ, and the new nature in Christ now lives in us – old ways are done away with.
I pray before You now, day and night, for the children of Israel Your servants, and confess the sins of the children of Israel which we have sinned against You. (Nehemiah 1:6)
Fathomless Love
The love of God stoops down to the sin-encrusted earth from His hallowed heaven. The love of God scrapes up from humankind the sick, suffering, sin-stained sinner. The love of God rakes from the pit of hell, fallen sons and daughters of Adam.
Offering For Sin
And yet it pleased the LORD to bruise Him; He has put Him to grief.
When You make His soul an offering for sin, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in His hand.
That extra feature where we cannot just be occupied with faults and be people of a criticizing attitude, the extra feature with a love which covers a multitude of sins.
But there is also a wider world that is in equal need of redemption from sin and everlasting life from above. There was the intriguing story of Moses the prophet, who was raised up by God to lead His people out of Egyptian bondage, and to guide them safely them through their wilderness walk, who declared:- the Lord your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from among your own people.
Great High Priest
We read of Melchizedek, who was priest and king of Salem and Aaron the high priest of Israel, whose individual lives and unique characters were types of our great and eternal High Priest – Who down through the centuries has been interceding for His church – for we do not have a High Priest Who is unable to sympathise with our weaknesses, but in every respect has been tempted as we are – yet without sin.
Rejected Saviour
The first time the king of glory visited the earth to redeem His people from their sins He came as a helpless baby, born in a humble stable and lived a simple life as a poor carpenter, until He was finally rejected and cruelly crucified by those He came to save.
Humble Repentance
He also sees the secret thoughts of the heart and the hidden sins that mar our lives. This should not disturb us but rather, it should lead us to mourn for our foolish wrongdoing. It should cause us to run to Him for forgiveness with a humble and repentant heart. It will bring us back into fellowship with the Lord and keep our heart pure before Him. The ever-watchful eye of our Father should rejoice our heart and influence our walk.
To be weighed down by evil in a Christ-rejecting sin-sick world. To be able to stay and to stand in such a school of discipline - to be able with His grace, to say.. The cup which my Father hath given me, shall I not drink it - is this not faith at its highest success? Is this not faith at its crowning pinnacle?
Cross to Carry
Great faith is not so much seen in the ability to do. Great faith is exhibited in the willingness to suffer with patient endurance. To have a God of compassion and empathy we need to have a suffering Saviour, Who in all points was tested like as we are, Yet without sin, for Who but the heart of Him could understand the suffering we choose to bear.
Sin of Unforgiveness
Many people complain that they can’t forgive or they will not forgive, Yet the sin of unforgiveness so often entraps our souls with dark bitterness.
Forgiveness unfastens the shackles of selfishness.” Paul reminds us that: “God forgave us ALL our sins” Col.2:13 – only one of which is sufficient to secure the eternal wages of death and hell.
Heavenly Quality
Forgiveness is a beautiful heavenly quality that touches the heart of God, When you fully recognise how the Father has forgiven you of your sins – it becomes not only easier to forgive – but a vital necessity.
God’s Forgiveness
Yes, we are certainly supposed to love and forgive those that sin against us, yet forgiveness does not come easily to any one of us. It is the Holy Spirit Who is the One, Who can fill our hearts with God’s love and forgiveness.
Everything of sin results in misery, depression, hurt, pain and disappointment, while all that comes from God is good, pure, holy, just, gracious, and loving. This truth permeates the warp and weft of scripture… from beginning to end. “If our faith were but more simple, we would take Him at His Word..”
Born to Die
He was born to die – that men might live. He was born to be made vile sin – that sinners might be made pure and perfect. He was born to be broken – that sin-shattered man might be made whole. He was born to be wounded – that damaged, traumatised man might be made new. He was born to bring the despairing, comfort, hope and joy that was lost in Eden’s realm. He came to bind up and to heal the broken, bloodied, wounded heart.
deliverance from Sin.. deliverance from all Sin.. deliverance from all the effects of Sin.. deliverance from all the power of Sin.. deliverance from all the effects and all the power of all sin – deliverance from sin, which is the great cause of shame, guilt, misery, suffering, damnation and death.
Fear was the first sin-soaked emotion felt by the first fallen, sin-soaked man.
Prideful man, who needs but to acknowledge his sin.
Disintegrating Disease
The same sick sin, that reared its ugly satanic, serpentine skull in the garden, is the same disintegrating disease that destroys mankind today.
That sin starts with pride, 'I will be as God' – 'I will be my own god and do it my way'.
Sin exposes the nakedness of our sin, but God provides the covering of righteousness: for unto you is born a Saviour, Who is Christ the Lord.
This should never be, for we have a great God Who not only died to save us from our sin but Who promised to supply all our needs, according to His gracious riches.
It was grace in its fullness that caused the Godhead to look down the corridors of time and purpose an eternal plan that would redeem a sinful race of humanity from sin.
Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures.
The good news is for those that believe and the bad news is for those that do not. The biblical gospel teaches man in totally is depraved and due to sin we all have missed the mark, and as a result are alienated from God and separated from Him. The bad news of the biblical gospel is that all have sinned and are deserving of death.
All are without hope and without God in a world of sin.
For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and the wages of sin, for all is death.
He also knew that spiritual death which is caused by sin, means separation from God: They are excluded from the life of God because of ignorance and hardness of heart. Men are separated from God and life, because of pride and the blindness of their heart. He who has the Son has life.
Redemption Plan
Re-union with God requires the death of Another – and until Christ’s blood streamed from His veins at Calvary, the blood of an innocent lamb was to cover sin-stained man.
The Bad News
The bad news of the biblical gospel is that all have sinned and are deserving of death. All have missed the mark – all are separated from God – all are sinners to the core. All are spiritually dead – all are without hope and without God in a world of sin. But only when the bad news of the gospel is seen in its proper context – where sin separates man from God forever – does the good news of the gospel come into view. So what is the good news of the gospel of salvation that is open to every man? What is the good news for those that believe in Jesus Christ – the Son of God?
Christ died for our sins and the proof of His death was that He was buried for 3 days. He also rose again and the proof of His resurrection was that He was seen for 40 days.
He identified with man and died for mans’ sins and took the punishment man deserved.
He became sin for us – He became our substitute sacrifice, to satisfy the justice of God.
Full Salvation
We are to rely on His work on the cross to save us from sin and death and hell.
Death and Resurrection
Without His death on the cross, our sins would not have been atoned for and we would remain unforgiven sinners – dead in our sins and separated forever from a holy God.
Specified Peace
The race of man to whom the angels had been sent were ‘children of wrath’, who were at enmity with the Creator – dead in their sins and without any hope in the world. The peace of which the angels sang was not a universal peace, with goodwill to all men, but a specified peace for men of goodwill – peace with God – through His Son. The peace that was proclaimed by the angelic host was the perfect peace of God, which is the right of those that trust in Christ – the only begotten Son of the Father.
Faithful Remnant
But as a nation, Israel rebelled against their God and did evil in the sight of the Lord. Prophet after prophet was sent to Israel to call the nation to repent of their sins, but they would not repent of their evil deeds and were taken captive into Babylon.
400 Silent years
The nation of Israel was required to repent of her collective sins against her God, and generation after generation that Seed travelled down the corridors of time.
Repent of your sins and turn to God, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near.
Herald of the Seed
The Baptist was to herald the Seed Who came to save His people from their sins. The Baptist was God’s forerunner to Israel’s Messiah – promised so long ago.
The Baptist announced, I have seen and I testify that this is God’s Chosen One..” He pointed the people to the Lamb of God Who takes away the sin of the world.
Paul also reminds us that John’s ministry to Israel was a baptism of repentance, for John called the people to repent of their sins, turn to God and to believe in the One Who was to come after him – that is, Jesus, for the Kingdom of Heaven was near.
stretching back before the worlds began, for He gave His only begotten Son.. (John 3:16) the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. (Rev.13:8). For as far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our sins from us. (Psalm 103:12)
The natural man by lineage is dead in trespasses and sins.
Dead in Sins
And for 6000 years every Gentile have their roots in the old creation in Adam, (and for 4000 years every Jew has had their roots in the old creation in Jacob) but all possess the old sin nature and all require a Saviour.
We were all one in sin – all dead in trespasses and sins.
He was God’s Passover Lamb – the atoning Sacrifice for the sin of the world.
Gift of Love
He has set aside the glory He had with the Father before the world was created and lived His entire life in humble obedience to the Father, in the power of the Holy Spirit. Every Passover Lamb since their escape from Egypt was a death that pointed to Christ. Every sin offering prefigured Calvary’s cross and every morning and evening sacrifice pictured His entire life as a freewill gift of love – a sweet savour – offered daily to God.
New Creation
Through Him, the world was spoken into being, and by Him, the universe is sustained. Through His death sin was conquered and by His resurrection death was vanquished.
Christ’s Humanity
But Christ was also fully Man – and as such he had a human nature – yet without sin. He was a man with a mind and emotions and He had a human body, a soul and spirit. As Man He grew weary and could legitimately say, I thirst – give me to drink… and as Man He could rightfully say to the High Priest at His trial – you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven.
Substitute Saviour
Both the deity and the manhood of Christ is challenged today in differing quarters but unless fully God and fully Man, united in one Person – He could never have become the perfect Sin-Sacrifice for humanity.
Christ’s Duel Nature
Unless fully human He could never have been our kinsman-Redeemer - our sin-substitute... for only a representative from the fallen race of humanity could pay the price for sin. Unless fully God, He could not have saved Himself nor could He have saved us – for only God Himself is good enough to pay His own required price for the sin. Indeed, denial of the true humanity is so serious in the eyes of the apostle John, that it he considers it to be the mark of an antichrist – and should be defended at all costs.
Exemplary Life
He lived a sinless life and so there was no requirement for Him to confess His sins. His words were always seasoned with salt and His actions were full of gracious truth.
Humble Servant
And though fully God and fully human in His singular body – He laid aside His glory, and took upon Himself the form of a servant and humbled Himself – to die on a cross. No one but Jesus could have taken the sin of the world upon His manly shoulders.
It’s suitable for all occasions no matter what the time – and for all persons whether bond or free. God’s unutterable gift of His Son multiplies into a plethora of additional gifts, which explode into an astonishing display of God’s amazing grace and unconditional love. Spiritual death is removed and the new life of Christ is breathed into our dead spirit – we were dead in our sins, but made alive in Christ.
God’s Unspeakable Gift
God’s unspeakable gift transferred us from spiritual darkness to spiritual light – for the imputed sin of Adam and the many sins we commit are removed far away. As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our sins from us – for as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His love for those who fear Him.
We are free from bondage and the curse of the law – set free from the slave market of sin.
We are part of a new creation – new creatures in Christ, for our old sin nature was severed at the cross and we are imbued with a new nature – the new life in Christ. Our status of sinner is changed into saint.
We are forgiven forever – cleansed; made whole and ministers of a new covenant. The death and resurrection of Christ Jesus our Lord has paid the price for our sin..
broken the power of sin in our life and will one day remove sin’s presence – forever. The curtain of separation has been torn from top to bottom granting access to the throne-room of grace and we’re covered from head to toe with the armour of God, for we are clothed with Christ and one with Him – His body, His church – His bride.
It is just wonderful.... You are not meant just to be saved and get to heaven, to know your sins are forgiven and to have a certain number of blessings which come with salvation.
Death’s Dept
But sin has consequences and sinners have a debt to pay – and death is its due. Nothing but the shed blood of an Innocent can pay the required price for sin, and no-one is good enough, save the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.
Perfect Man
It was against our Creator that we sinned and it was from God that we wandered, and He it was that outlined the only payment for sin that would utterly satisfy – a sinless days-man; a pure redeemer; a perfect man who was willing to die.
But there was no one good enough to pay the price of sin, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God – for there is none good, not even one- for God alone is good.
Sacrificial Lamb
And so God sent His Son into the world to reconcile man back to Himself. God Himself took on human flesh to become humanities perfect kinsman-redeemer: and The LORD laid on Him the iniquity of us all. God placed the accumulated sin of the whole world on His beloved Son – Jesus became that sacrificial lamb.
Sin and Sins
It was the sin of the world that was laid on Christ. He paid the price for our individual SINS – but also the price for SIN.
He died so our sins would be forgiven, but also to break the power of SIN.
for God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God. 2 Corinthians 5:21
Price for Sin
We are not sinners because we sin but we sin because we are sinners.
And God, in His grace, came to pay the price for sin in the person of Christ – the perfect Son of God became the perfect Son of Man.
Made Sin
And He was wounded for our transgressions.
He did not become a sinner, but rather He became SIN for us.
It cannot understand that our Lord Jesus was willing to accept exactly the same basis of life with its limitation in which we live, although without sin.
Just as the sin of one man, (Adam) resulted in condemnation for all people, so also one righteous act of the one Man, (Christ Jesus) resulted in justification and life for all people.Romans 5:18
God’s Condemnation
The whole world came under the condemnation of God because of one man’s sin. Adam’s disobedience resulted in the human race being born under condemnation. It was sin that was the cause of man’s condemnation and the wages of sin is death. It was necessary for God to cover man’s sin with the blood-soaked fleece of a lamb, for in His heart God purposed to send a Saviour – Who could pay the price of sin. What grace was being shown to man when God purposed to save His fallen race.
Christ’s Blood
His perfect life would be a payment – for the sinful lives of the entire human race. All sin that was covered by the fleece of a lamb would be atoned for by His blood. Until the blood of the perfect Sacrifice was offered, man’s sin would remain covered – covered but never forgiven UNTIL the final Sacrifice for all sin was offered.
God’s Grace
But grace was in God’s heart when He purposed to give His Son as a ransom for many, Christ was to come bringing with Him grace and truth for all condemned by the Law. His perfect life and sacrificial death was to break the power of sin, resting on man, His death on the cross was so that man could be released from ALL condemnation.
so that sin might increase – so that the condemnation on the heads of all men would be multiplied!
His ways are perfect and this was simply another demonstration of His grace. The greater mans’ sin became the more valuable and precious was the sacrifice for sin. The more sin abounded, the more grace would be poured over the head of humanity.
God’s grace dictated that He would give His only Son to pay the price for all sin.. and the ONLY requirement of man was to believe that Christ died for their sin – and the ONLY way to be free from condemnation was to believe on Jesus Christ.
Sin’s Penalty
The ONLY requirement of man is to believe that Christ died for his sins.
What grace God showed to man, that Christ Jesus has paid the penalty for humanities sin.
God’s Standard
God had not shifted the goalposts, for all sin is abhorrent and forever condemned, but He purposed to pour out His wrath against sin upon His Son – in our place.
Instead of the LAW being the criteria for perfection that man must attain, the life of Christ Jesus was to be God’s standard – and He was to do it all for us, – and the ONLY requirement of us is to believe that Christ died for our sins, and rose again the third day.
Condemnation Lifted
This new perfect life of Christ cannot sin.
the old sin nature can still sin!
And when we sin as a believer we lose precious fellowship with our Saviour – and when we sin we live our life in our own strength and not in Christ’s strength.
Nevertheless, all SIN was forgiven at Calvary – so all condemnation is lifted.
What of those that have refused to accept that Jesus paid the penalty for their sins?
Man is not condemned because he sinned, but because he did not believe… because he did not believe on the name of the only begotten Son of God. Jesus Christ warned the hypocritical Scribes and Pharisees that they would all die in their sins, for though outwardly righteous, their hearts were riddled with unbelief. The Lord Jesus wept over Jerusalem for in rejecting Him they rejected His grace, and in rejecting His grace they placed themselves under condemnation.
Sin of Unbelief
Today the work of the Spirit is to convict unsaved people of their sin.
But the sin of this age is not the breaking of the Law of Moses... but the sin of unbelief in Jesus Christ.
and this is love for God: to obey His commands, and His commands are not burdensome. 1John 5:3. Never forget that: the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death.
This Man that is the very image and likeness of the invisible, indivisible God – this Lord Jesus Christ, Who chose to share His glory with the likes of me… was mocked and jeered at, spat upon and despised – all to meet my terrible sin – all for Love of me and all for Love of you too.
Condescending Love
Herein lies the infinitude of God’s condescending love towards me. Herein lies the inexplicability of God’s gracious love towards you too – in that while we were yet sinners… while we were dead in trespasses and sins, Christ died for you… (and me to) so that we could be one with Him.Romans 5:8. Let this mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus. Let this mind of Christ be in me as well.
Of course, that goes without saying; yet there are multitudes who are miserable after trusting the Lord, miserable over the sin question in their lives; and the number, I am afraid, is increasing.
Blinded Eyes
Their eyes were blinded to His loveliness, for there was no beauty in Him that they could discern – yet He was the altogether lovely One, Who would die for their sins. Their ears were stopped to His wisdom and their hearts were cold towards God’s only begotten Son, Who had set aside His glory and clothed Himself in mortal flesh.
He was clothed in mortal flesh so that He could be identified as one with our race. God became man so that man could return back into fellowship with a holy God. Christ became sin so that sinners could be covered in His perfect righteousness.
Justified in the Spirit
The 2nd principle of this mystery of our faith is that Christ was justified in the spirit. Christ, Who knew no sin, was made sin so we might be made righteousness, in Him. He was made sin, and He bore the world’s sin – but Christ was the innocent sacrifice..
for the wages of sin is death but Christ being raised from the dead, dies no more.
How gracious is God – for the people that walked in darkness were given the light, and those born dead in their sins can become sons of God, by grace through faith. Great is the mystery of godliness for the earth shall be filled with His glory as the waters cover the sea.
The innocence of babyhood and the dreams of childhood are tainted with sin.
For by one man sin entered the world, and by one man came death upon all.
The natural man has rejected Christ and remains dead in trespasses and sins.
The one dead in trespasses and sins has no capacity to know the things of God: for the wisdom of God is from God and can only come from spiritual discernment, and yet …out of the mouths of babes and sucklings, God has ordained praise.
Spiritual Discernment
Sin in its raw state has robbed the natural man of a vital sphere of knowledge – a sphere of knowledge that is the most important of all: the spiritual sphere.
Christ became a man, so that humanity had a Kinsman Redeemer to atone for their sin.
Two Natures
Jesus has two separate natures in one body - His nature as God and His human nature. This personal union of two natures is where undiminished deity is uniquely united with true humanity, remaining together in one person forever and without confusion. This “hypostatic union” took place so that you and I might be saved from our sin.
Radiance of God’s Glory
Because Christ was conceived and born of a human mother, He is able to empathise with our human weaknesses, having been tempted in every way, like us – yet without sin.
He also upholds the universe by the Word of His power and after making purification for sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high.
The Holy Spirit
God the Spirit loves us so much that He convicts us of sin, righteousness and judgment – but the Holy Spirit could not have redeemed us.
The Lord Jesus Christ
Only a perfect Man Who was made in the image and likeness of human flesh could atone for the collective sin of mankind – and God alone is perfect.
Only the sinless Son of God, Who was to be born of a woman, could become the sinless sacrifice to take away the sin of the world and break the power of sin and death.
Only Jesus Christ was good enough to pay the price of sin and to die for you and me – and God has given all power and authority into the hand of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin BUT reckon yourselves to be alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.Romans 6:11
Biblical Reckoning
In Romans 6:11 we read: Reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, while in Galatians 2:19-20: for I through the law died to the law that I might live to God.
Yes, in Romans 6:11 we read: Reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin BUT reckon yourselves to be alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
ALIVE unto God – we who were once dead in trespasses and sin.
The One Who died unto sin that we may be made alive unto God.
Reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, dead to the law ..
We discover the love and mercy of a holy God Who took steps to save a fallen race that was lost in trespasses and sins – we see the scarlet thread of redemption streaming down through the pages of holy writ to condemned humanity.
God and Man
If Christ was not God, there could be no salvation, for God alone is good enough to pay the price of sin.
But unless Christ is also Man – unless Jesus is our kinsman-redeemer, there would be no salvation – for the price of sin must be made by a perfect MAN. The teachings of His incarnation and atonement for sin is impregnated in Scripture.
Forgiveness – God First Act
These were the first words spoken by the Lord Jesus on the Cross. Forgiveness was the first thought on the mind of the crucified Saviour. Forgiveness was the first response of God to sins committed in the Eden. Forgiveness is an unfathomable grace that is deep in the heart of God.
This eternal substitute was made sin for us – for you and for me. And He went to the cross alone.
The Eternal Gift
This God-Man paid the price for our every sin and He suffered.
He took the punishment we should receive – for the wages of our sin is death.
streaming like great drops of blood and water. His prayer washed our bloodied, bruised, battered, ugly, sin-stained hearts.
Eternal Separation
We all are born dead in our sins..
The cost of redemption was high, for the soul of man was submerged in sin.
The high cost of redemption was commensurate to the costly payment required – for the price for sin was death; eternal death – everlasting separation from God.
Price for Sin
Eye has not seen, nor could man imagine the shocking reality of such a sentence.
The penalty of the law-of-sin is devastating, because the wages of sin is death.
The wealth of the world or a lifetime of goodly works could not pay the price for sin.
Horrors of Death
God is love but He is also just and righteous and He can never wink at sin. The cost of sin is very high and the only acceptable payment is the blood of Christ. Only the blood of Jesus can atone for sin while maintaining God’s truth and honour.
When man sinned he became a slave of sin, and servant of Satan, with no escape.
Had we not been purchased by Christ, servitude to sin would be established forever: but we are bought with a price, ransomed; redeemed; recovered; restored; reunited.
Our obligation to be punished for our sin, was removed by Christ, and we have a new obligation to loving obedience and lifelong service: “for He who is called by the Lord as a slave, is the Lord’s free man.
Purchased, in Love
What awesome grace to be purchased, in love, by God and so become His child. What an honor to be brought into His kingdom from a life of slavery to sin and Satan.
For sin shall not have dominion over you; for ye are not under the law, but under grace (Rom. 6:14).
How blessed it is to know, and at the same time how solemn to realize, that the sin of the child of God is against his Father, and that it is the love of relationship that is called into exercise about it - love which acts towards us for our profit, that we might be partakers of His holiness' (Heb. 12:10).
Grace abides towards us; and because grace abides, sin cannot be permitted to have sway over the objects of it. -W.K.
that His Church might become the wife of the Lamb. He relinquished all His heavenly glory, so that she may sit with Him on His throne. He ate the bitter fruit of sin and death for her – for you and me!
bringing Salvation to all people. The keynote of Isaiah’s forty years ministry was – Salvation is of the Lord, and his message called for Israel to repent of their sins… to return to the Lord and be saved., and this truth is confirmed multiple times in Scripture – that Jesus Christ is God.
so He could become the Sacrifice for sin for the whole world..
yet He is also our Wonderful Counsellor, for He understands each one of us personally and sympathises with our weaknesses – yet has been tested in every way as we are, but without sin. He understands all our struggles and cares for us deeply, desiring that we cast all our care on Him, for He cares with the depth of love that emanates from the heart of God.
Mighty God
Jesus is indeed the Mighty God for He rescued us from the cesspit of sin – reuniting us with our Creator God, by the shedding of His blood – for we were dead in our trespasses and sins – but Jesus came from heaven to seek and save that which was lost.
Gift of Salvation
The keynote of Isaiah’s forty years ministry was – Salvation is of the Lord and so the Son of the Most High was supernaturally begotten in the womb of a virgin – so that He could save His people from their sins and become our Wonderful Counsellor; our Mighty God; our Everlasting Father – our Prince of Peace.
But this Man… offered one sacrifice for sins forever.Heb.10:12
The scarlet rope that redeemed the harlot Rahab has its omega is the sin offering.
It is one thing to know that Christ died for your sins..
Perfect Sacrifice
The blood applied to us is superior to the little lamb that Abel offered, for it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.
Because Christ fully identified with the sinner’s sins, and Christ fully identified and the judgment of sin itself.
Christ’s full identification made the judgment of sin possible – possible in my life and possibly in yours.
We Identify with Christ
He fully identified we me and He fully identified with you – with my sin and with your sin, with my sin nature and with your sin nature.
There was a full identification of Christ with the sinner – His identification with me and His identification with you..and that made the judgment of sin possible when Christ died.
The dying thief rejoiced to see that fountain in his day;And there have I, though vile as he, washed all my sins away.
Dear dying Lamb, Thy precious blood shall never lose its powerTill all the ransomed church of God be saved, to sin no more.
If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.1 John 1:9
Barrier To Sin
Christ was made sin for the world, taking the punishment we deserve in His body on the cross, and the veil of the temple was rent in two, from top to bottom, removing forever the barrier that separated sinful man from a holy God.
Fellowship Formula
Although union with the Lord can never be broken, lost or removed for all who are in Christ Jesus, fellowship with God and sweet communion with Him can be broken, when sin rears its ugly head in our lives.
Each time we sin, fellowship must be restored and John outlines his “fellowship formula” at the start of his first epistle.
Verse 9 outlines the condition for regaining our lost fellowship: If we confess our sins… If we honestly confess our sins to the Father, He will forgive us and restore our fellowship.
If we honestly confess our sins, God is faithful and just to forgive us our sins.
If we confess our sins, He is faithful to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
If we confess our sins, God us faithful to re-establish fellowship with His children.
Confession of Sins
But what does it actually mean “to confess” our sin?
All we have to do is name our sins, and by His grace, He will forgive our sins and restore us back into fellowship with Himself.
What do we mean by sin.
What is sin, and how can it be measured in a world of slide-rule relativity?
Man’s Standard
One denomination sees sin as non-compliance with their self-imposed regulations.
License says you do as you please for the more we sin the more grace is displayed.
God’s Standard
But there is only one standard for sin and that is God’s standard, which is His Word – and Jesus is the perfect example of His standard.
When we do sin we need to confess our sins by God’s standard and then leave them behind.
When we sin we need to confess our sins and then trust His word and accept His grace – for if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness – and to restore us back into fellowship.
Sin Barrier Broken
Man’s standard for sin will keep believers bound by sin, indifferent to sin or ignorant of sin, while God’s standard for sin is out of our reach.
But God sent His Son to pay the price for our sin, so that all who believe on Him would have their sins forgiven forever.
The sin barrier that separated us from God is removed forever, to those who are in Christ Jesus.
Let us keep a short reign on the sins we do commit, by confessing them to our Father, so that we may maintain sweet fellowship with Him, every passing moment.
Trinity in Man
Man’s spirit is dead in trespasses and sins until made a new creation and born again.
Man’s soul is born in the image and likeness of sinful Adam’s old-sin nature, and for the believer, there is a choice – either a spiritual walk or carnal concerns.
Consider His Humility
Consider His generosity, for we read in 2 Corinthians 3:5 that: “He gave Himself a ransom for all, or He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him”.
Consider Jesus – for love will cover a multitude of sins.
Not necessarily to sin or to the world, but to something which, while it brings them a great deal of gratification for a time, eventually proves to be a diversion resulting in arrested spiritual growth, and they are found in a backwater, a cul-de-sac, occupied with an alternative to the whole counsel of God.
Justification – PAST
There are many passages that distinguish between these three tenses of salvation, In 2 Timothy 1:9 we discover God saved us – a past event, that took place at a point in time, when we were saved from the penalty of sin i.e.
Initial Salvation
Although we were not made righteous in a practical way – for we still have an old sin nature, this was the point we were positioned “in Christ” – and imputed with His righteousness – and from then on we had a right standing with God – JUSTIFIED. This is the point in time when we were born again – by believing in the work of Christ.
Ongoing Salvation
Timothy, who was already saved in the past from the penalty of sin, is now being instructed on how to be saved in the present - from the POWER of sin, for he, like all believers, is in the process of being saved in his Christian life – SANCTIFICATION.
Willing Sanctification
God longs that all his children chose to be sanctified – set apart unto Him by offering themselves as a willing sacrifice and submitting to the Spirit’s leading – for when we are being sanctified we are blessed with continuous deliverance from the power of sin.
Threefold Life
In his epistle to the Romans, He guides us with clarity on the essential guidelines. Man, spiritually dead is separated from God in sin, and it is then that the threefold life begins.
The free gift of life… of salvation is offered to all sinners: for the wages of sin is death, but God’s gift of life is to those who believe.
What salvation has done is not merely forgiving me my sins; forgiveness, cleansing, justifying, applies to my responsibility and guilty condition in the first Adam; but salvation applies to my standing in the Last Adam.
Rom.8:2. This path promises freedom from the law of sin and death and by living our life God’s way we are not placing ourselves under any man-made regulations or laws – we are not placing ourselves back not under condemnation.
Paul calls it: the law of sin and death, Rom.8:2. and it and places the believer back under condemnation: for whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point is guilty of all – for he has become a debtor to keep the whole Law.
We are told to: walk in the spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. Gal.5:16. Some erroneously think that the lust of the flesh only means overt sinning, but every type of sin, overt and covert, emanates from man’s heart (from the inner man – the old sin nature).
Law is called a ministry of death and its source is the old sin nature, (the flesh), while grace is described as a ministry of life, and its source is the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus.
A believer that chooses self-merit is a debtor to keep the whole law, while a believer that chooses God’s grace is free from the law of sin and death.
Whenever we choose the wrong way through rebellion, wrong teaching or ignorance of God’s way of sanctification, every born-again believer has access back to the throne of God, through confession of sins: Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight – and God is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 1John 1:9.
Morning Mercies
Never forget... no sin is so great that cannot it cannot be forgiven and no place is so remote that we cannot be restored to the Father.
Pre and Post Cross
The Law of sin and death had been fulfilled in Christ on our account, and pre-cross doctrine had be superseded with post-resurrection teaching.
When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high.Hebrews 1:3
Deep Darkness
His eternal existence was rudely interrupted with His birth into a race of fallen men. The glory He shared with God was set aside, for a time – as He tabernacled on earth. The glorious relationship with His Father was temporarily terminated for 3 dreadful hours of deep darkness, as He paid for your sin and mine so He could cry – IT IS FINISHED.
A Deep Yearning
Yes, God in His wisdom has placed a deep yearning for Himself in our inner beings. He knows our deepest need is clear, clean, beautiful fellowship with Himself. But God also knows that man’s heart is intrinsically wicked and riddled with sin, and in His wisdom has withheld much that prideful man desires to know of God.
Born in Adam, (the 1st man), the human race inherits sin, disobedience, and death.
All humanity starts their life on earth, dead in trespasses and sins.
Cain and Able were equally of the flesh, both inherited sin, and death from Adam, but one was rejected while the other was accepted.
The cardinal truth is, that: without the shedding of blood is no remission of sins.
He presumed God could accept sin-stained fruit-sacrifices from a God-cursed earth.
Had Christ lived 2000 years His combined good works could not recompense for sin, for salvation is through the shedding of blood.
Can it set aside the death penalty, which was due sin and demanded by God?
Christ’s Atonement
The fleshly, carnal, egotistical Self – thinks man can draw close to God, but self-denial through the bloody sacrifice of Christ’s death is the only way, Praise and worship, and grateful thanks is all that man can offer to the Lord, but this can only be offered in full and clear intelligence that our sins are put away – and this can only be known by faith, in virtue of Christ’s accomplished atonement.
A Demonstrated Reality
Every step that He made, every action, reaction and decision that He took, every word He spoke and each thought of His heart, was carried out as a man and was carried out for man, for He had laid aside His deity for a season, in order to demonstrate all that God had intended for us, but which man had lost through sin.
I have hidden your word deep within my heart, that I might not sin against you.Psalm 119:11
Thy Word have I hid in my heart, that I might not sin against Thee, Psalm 119 verse 11.… And so we waited for the next command – the next charge – the next verse.
Cleansing Word
When we walk in in the light as He is in the light, we commune with Him. When we walk in in the light as He is in the light, we fellowship with Him and with one another. When we walk in in the light as He is in the light and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanses us from all sin. 1 John 1:5-7.
Sanctifying Word
If we are obedient to its instructions, we shall be cleansed from all sin..
I have hidden your word deep within my heart, that I might not sin against you.
And then you notice how frequently He links with that a hall The hallsof the am'sin John Gospel are tremendously impressive not always using the exact word, but in the context you will find the same conclusion.
There are vast numbers who profess to believe in the atoning virtue of the death of the Lord Jesus, but who do not see aught therein beyond the forgiveness of their sins.
Christ’s future empire is not rooted in the sin-sodden soil of today’s current satanic system.
This world system kingdom is to be taken back from the ‘prince of the power of the air’ – the ‘god’ who currently rules this sin-sodden, sickening world-system.
Wonderful Prophecy
That wonderful prophecy from Joel appeared to begin on that day of Pentecost – when Peter called the nation of Israel to repent of their sins and turn back to God as did John the Baptist, Jesus and the apostles during Christ earthly life. That wonderful prophecy from Joel will have its full and final fulfilment on that amazing future day, when the Jews shall look on Him Whom they have pierced – when Israel as a nation cries, Blessed is He Who comes in the name of the Lord.
He has in the first place rejoiced greatly in the forgiveness of his sins, and his acceptance by God; but sooner or later he begins to realise that all is not well, and that he has failed and fallen from the high standard which he set himself to reach, in the first flush of his conversion.
Liberating Gospel
It seems that most believers stop their pursuit of salvation when they are saved. Truly salvation is the liberation from sin and the loosing from bondage. Salvation is the free gift for all that believe in Jesus Christm Who died and rose again..
and the new-born believer rejoices in his liberty – sins forgiven and sins forgotten – sins forever buried in the vast ocean of God's gracious forgetfulness.
Memorable Day
Today is my mother’s birthday. Her diaries catalogue showers of blessings amidst a mountain of difficulties. Today is my daughter’s wedding anniversary – her life also is peppered with deep hurts and trial and a cascade of Gods graces. My times also have had its deep pains and great joys and I am sure yours has too. Indeed, I know of no-one who has not been deeply affected by this world of sin.
Word of Wisdom
Caesar is gone – Queen Victoria is passed away – Columbus is no more – as are so many others. Stripped of human glory; destitute of fame and fortune; bereft of state and symbol – awaiting the final day, to stand or fall in the presence of God their Judge. How we need to apply the prophet's words of instruction: You have set our iniquities before You, our secret sins in the light of your presence Psalm 90:8 How we need to pray with the Psalmist – The years of our life are few.
Trials, Tests, Temptations
We know that Jesus Himself walked this same way that we are treading, and was in every respect was tried, tested and tempted as we are – yet without sin.
And yet despite this, we can be burdened with sin and the fear of judgment..
All God’s Work
How sad that so many believers strive in their own strength to live a godly life, when all that is needed is to yield to the power of God working within them. But the truth is that salvation from the penalty and power of sin is ALL God’s work.
Heavenly Home
And yet our feet are dusty – polluted with the sin and filth of this world, for we are ever yet journeying towards our heavenly home. The Father is there and seated on His throne of grace. At His right hand is seated the Son of His love – the Man; the perfect Man; the Man Christ Jesus - seated on the throne with the Father.
No more tears; no more sorrows; no more pain; no more loss; no more sin; no more death.
1 the old sin nature from Adam and2 the new born again life of Christ
This almost never happens in the early flush of faith – but after decades of training... for the old sin nature must be recognised for what it is – a life of self.
Carnality and legalism are often connected with worldly sins, pride, and unbelief, but are also produced by a believer trying hard to please God, but in the wrong way.
Within the inner ‘being’ of man are two continuously conflicting camps:- the old sin nature (the flesh or self-ego) is gained from the old birth in Adam, while the new life in Christ (the spirit of life in Christ Jesus) comes from our new birth.
Spirit or Flesh
Often the inner old sin nature (the flesh) shows itself through the physical body, but can also be manifested through religious works.
The sin nature often displays itself the ‘works-merit-law way’, by Christians trying to live a good life the wrong way.
The old sin nature opposes the new life in Christ, but the inner ‘flesh’ often manifests itself through good deeds, which are carried out in our physical body, by trying to do God’s will the wrong way.
You were set free from the tyranny of Sin (Rom 6:18, Wey.).
The tyranny of sin over the lost necessitated the death of the Lord Jesus on the Cross.
The tyranny of sin over the saved necessitated the death of the believer in the Lord Jesus on that same Cross.
The dual truths of Calvary: His death for our sin, as payment; our death with Him unto sin, for deliverance.
The believer sees that Christ by dying for him has completely delivered him from the penalty of sin.
So it is his privilege to see that because he is identified with the Lord Jesus in that death, he is also delivered from sin as a ruling principle.
He is in that sense free from sin' (Rom. 6:18, 22). -E.H.
Through my life-union with Christ in His death and resurrection, I have died to sin.' His death to sin is my death to sin.
In my very humanity, Christ so took me up with Himself in death that, when He died unto sin, I too was executed and there died to sin's reign and power.
Has Christ so dealt with sin that He has exhausted its every claim and dominion?
And do I share with Him His death unto sin?
In Christ crucified I have been discharged from sin's domination. -L.E.M.
But now, being freed from the bondage of sin . . .
He has in the first place rejoiced greatly in the forgiveness of his sins, and his acceptance by God; but sooner or later he begins to realize that all is not well, and that he has failed and fallen from the high standard which he set himself to reach in the first flush of his conversion.
Fellowship is broken when a Christian prevents the work of the Holy Spirit in their life, for we can both grieve Him and quench His work in our lives through sin, but how few really understand what sin is.
The Sin Question
Sin comes in many guises and disguises, and how we love to hide or ignore it.
We can sin overtly or we can try to cover up our sin.
We can sin with our mental attitude, where sin is carried out in the mind and we can sin motivationally – where a good deed is done for the wrong reason.
It is very simple to sin, and very easy to pretend that we are not sinning, but God looks on the heart, even if we try to deceive others.
Blocking Communion
So sin grieves and quenches the work of the Spirit within the believer, and sin blocks communion and fellowship with God, and with the Lord Jesus Christ.
But many of us do not have a right understanding of what sin is.
Sin is what God hates, for God is holy and commands His children to be holy, and yes..
Some are overt and some are covert sins, and some are motivational sins, but all are connected with a mental attitude.
How we need to examine ourselves to see if we are in fellowship, and if not we need to confess our sins, and God is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and restore us to fellowship.
Communion is a temporal relationship and may be lost due to sin, but we should seek to reestablish our broken fellowship with the Lord as soon as possible.
It is to be the new life in Christ that works through me not MY old sin-nature and His life in us is lived out in our life as the Spirit Himself lives in us. Christ’s nature is reflected in our new nature, as we yield to the indwelling Spirit.
A Prayer Ministry
Intercession often starts with praying for the souls of men – those dead in trespasses and sins. Intercession frequently progresses with prayer for the problems of all the saints of God.
Daily Cleansing
This daily wash is accomplished by confession of sins – be holy for I am holy. This daily wash is confession of sins to the Father and walking in spirit and truth.
and the apostle John explains how believers can remain in communion with God: If we make it our habit to confess our sins to the Father, He is faithful and just to forgives us for those sins and cleanses us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:9
Past Present and Future
Justification was the element of salvation that freed us from the PENALTY of sin.
Glorification is the element of salvation that frees us from the PRESENCE of sin.
And Sanctification is the element of salvation that frees us from the POWER of sin.
Grace through Faith
Well, every part of salvation is a gift of God’s grace that is accessed by faith. God does it all and we contribute nothing – all we had to do was to freely believe. Once we believed that Jesus Christ is the only begotten Son of God Who died to pay the price for our sins…..
A New-Life in Christ
As His children we were given a new LIFE in Christ – a baby life that needs to grow into a mature spiritual believer -– a life that will be fruitful – a victorious life – a life that will be conformed into the image of Jesus during the time we live on earth. But we also have a sin nature that seeks to gain supremacy over the new Christ-life. Oh!
we have been freed from sin’s power over us – but while on earth it still lurks. And this is the thing… just as we chose to believe in the Lord Jesus to be justified – So too we have a choice when it comes to sanctification during our time on earth.
He came baptising in the wilderness and preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of their sins.
It was a final call for pre-cross Israel to repent of their sins and turn back to God.
Church Age Baptism
As church-age believers, we are baptised by the Spirit into Christ the moment we believe that Jesus is our Saviour and that He died for our sin and rose the third day. We are to grow in grace and become true followers – true disciples of the Lord and water baptism is a beautiful outward demonstration of a beautiful internal change.
Son of God
God in His justice cannot look upon sin, for the wages of sin is death.
God in His love discovered a way to have those sins forgiven, forever.
Son of Man
God – the invisible God, cannot look upon sin and hid His pure face from sinful man.
that I am forgiven; Faith in the Servant King – Who broke the power of sin and death in me – that I have access to the throne room of the Father, and I am permitted to call Him Abba, Father.
Who am I and who are you to that we should not walk the same path as He trod? This earth is not our home – we are passing through until our second coming. We were born into this world, dead in trespasses and sins – cast out from God.
Stark Contrast
Our first sojourn is in a world of sin – outcasts from society - scorned and despised.
Long my imprisoned spirit lay,Fast bound in sin and nature’s night;Thine eye diffused a quickening ray—I woke, the dungeon flamed with light;My chains fell off, my heart was free,I rose, went forth, and followed Thee.
Still the small inward voice I hear,That whispers all my sins forgiven;Still, the atoning blood is near,That quenched the wrath of hostile heaven.I know the life His wounds impart;I know the Saviour in my heart.
His Light
But if our eyes are on Him, our vision is unimpaired and we walk in His Light: and if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. 1John 1:7
Only Way
It all centres around believing on the Lord Jesus Christ and His work on the cross, for apart from Calvary there is no forgiveness of sin – no salvation – no heaven. Man’s assumption is inevitably that I must win my way to heaven by my good deeds. God’s criteria is believe on the finished work of Christ crucified – and nothing else. The one point men seem to forget is that we are all sinners and estranged from God. Sin is the one thing that separates man from God.
Sin = Death = Separation from God.
Spiritually Dead
When we entered this life we were born into sin – we were sinners at birth, because we are sinners we are dead in trespasses and sins – separated from God. We are physically alive but our spirit is dead = separated from God; separated forever. Man throughout the centuries has devised many ways to get to God – to please Him, and they are based on good deeds, religious works, keeping the ten commandments.
BELIEVE on the Lord Jesus Christ – and your sins are forgiven. BELIEVE on the Lord Jesus Christ – and you are not condemned. BELIEVE on the Lord Jesus Christ – and you are given eternal life. BELIEVE on the Lord Jesus Christ – and you are put in union with the Lord Jesus. BELIEVE on the Lord Jesus Christ – and you are forever in-dwelt by the Holy Spirit. BELIEVE on the Lord Jesus Christ – and you are no longer separated from the Father.
Christ’s Cross
However, man in his arrogance and pride does not think that God’s way is best, and man in his conceit and vanity has tried to circumnavigate the Word of God. Man in his foolish ignorance – has superimposed his own criteria over God’s Word. But we are all guilty sinners – and we all stand condemned before a righteous God. We have nothing God can accept in payment for our sins – except Christ’s cross.
Command of Christ
Christians are called to keep the commands of Christ, and the instructions given to the Church: have set us free from law of sin and death, [which is the code given to Israel] – in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.
Sin Offering
As a believer’s trust in God's truth grows, more is opened up to his understanding.
The first, vital thing for any believer is to know Christ as the wonderful sin offering.
My Substitute
We rejoice that Christ has died for our sins..
We rejoice to know that 'in Christ' our sins are buried in God’s sea of forgetfulness.
Cleansing Flood
The knowledge that ALL my sins were forgiven forever was a most glorious truth – a cleansing that flooded my soul like a sweet refreshing fountain of crystal water.
Identification
Forgiveness of sins is a fairly simple and acceptable concept – substitution.
But sin, as a ruling power in our lives, requires identification.
Substitution Truth
SUBSTITUTION – is where Christ took our sins upon Himself – He died for us.
Christ died for our sins; He took the punishment we deserve; He was our substitute.
Sin as an offence was forgiven at the cross.
The death penalty for sin was paid. Sin in the life of every believer is totally acquitted, for Christ died for our sins.
BUT sin as a master, ruling our forgiven lives requires identification with Him.
The early chapters of Romans describe in startling clarity God’s hatred of sin.
Two Laws
But then comes the wonderful TRUTH of Romans chapter 6 – identification. Because we are in Christ, we are not subject to the law of sin and death. Because we are in Christ, we are subject to the law of life and liberty in Christ. One saint of God describes it in these terms… He has put our old man – our original self – where He put our sins… namely, on the cross with Christ.
Adamic Life
Just as the sins we committed were placed on Christ 2000 years ago… when He died, so our sinful nature (our old self-life), was nailed to that cross, when He died – our Adamic propensity; the old man; our sin nature was nailed to the cross.
Faith and Forgiveness
But what of forgiveness of the sins that I commit during my Christian life?
John tells us that post-salvation sins need to be confessed before God.
Pardon is offered on the condition of confession – confessing our sins to Him – and I need faith to accept His forgiveness.
In 1John 1:9 we read that: if we (we who are saved) confess our sins (our post-salvation sins), He is faithful and just to forgive us our (post-salvation) sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness (all known and unknown unrighteousness).
If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from ALL unrighteousness. 1John 1:9
“The believer is never told to ‘overcome sin,’ but to reckon, on the ground of his death with Christ, that he has died to it.
On the basis of death, he is told not to ‘let’ sin reign in his life.
It is to be dealt with by an attitude of death, not by ‘overcoming.’ The believer therefore is not to be spending his whole life in getting victory over sin, but understanding his position as having died unto sin.”
Christ’s Witness
John, whose name means: God is gracious, bore witness of Jesus: God is salvation. John was to point to the Lamb of God, Who takes away the sin of the world. John was a witness to the grace of God – that is seen in the face of Jesus Christ. John was sent as a moon to reflect the Son – the only true Light of the world.
Sacrifice for Sin
Though acknowledged by the Lord Jesus as the greatest of all men born of women. John was the one who testified that he must decrease – but Christ must increase. John was not the Light, but he witnessed about the true and only Light of God. John did not bring Grace, but he was to testify of the One Who was full of Grace. John could not forgive sins, but pointed to the Messiah, the only Sacrifice for sin.
Witness to Jews
The Baptist’s message in Matthew was one of judgement that called for penitence. He is calling for all Israel to repent of their sins – to turn to God and His Messiah. The lost sheep of Israel were to bring forth the fruit – which called for repentance.
This message to all men was to testify of the Lamb of God – the Sacrifice for all sin.
His witness was to both Jew and gentile – a double message of repentance and grace. The LAW of Moses was given to REVEAL sin... but GRACE through faith in Christ REMOVES sin.
No one who believes in Christ is condemned, for their sins have been eternally forgiven.
Right Choices
Remember, there are two paths a born-again believer can follow in their Christian walk: either the grace-promise-faith way or the works-merit-law way; either by grace or works of the law; either by promise or the works of the flesh; either by faith or by merit; either by living a spiritual life or living a carnal life; either by walking in the spirit or walking in the flesh; either by walking in newness of life in Christ or by walking by means of the old sin nature in Adam.
Dead in Sin
When Adam sinned in disobedience to God he immediately died, spiritually.
Ever since that first spiritual death, all humanity have been born dead in their sin.
Spiritually Separated
Man is born spiritually dead and can only function through the old sin nature. Man remains spiritually separated from God until they are made alive in Christ: for that which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. John 3:6
The unbeliever remains dead in their sins and estranged from their Creator God. Only a believer has a human spirit that is alive and can commune with the Holy Spirit.
God’s High Priest
Before the cross, man had to approach the Lord through a mediator – God’s high priest. Sin offerings, burnt offerings – ANY offerings were made to God through the high priest.
But man did not have access to God, for sin separated fallen man from a holy God.
Our new nature must be conformed to be like Christ. The old sin nature must remain crucified and our flesh must remain on the cross, for our fleshly sin nature can never fellowship with the indwelling Holy Spirit.
New Nature
Our old sin-nature walks in the lusts of the flesh and not in spirit and truth.
Now that He is to enter more publicly upon His mediatorship, the tempter pierces His tender soul with many sorrows by solicitation to sin”.
The Lord’s testings were needful to demonstrate the qualities of the second Man: for we do not have a High Priest Who cannot sympathise with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin, Heb.4:5
Like Job, you may not question the goodly character of God directly and like Job and you may not sin with your lips – but do you question your own worthiness in the sight of God?
He knew that our new life in Christ is the one and only thing for which we should constantly strive, in this sin-sick, fallen world - which, for the time being, is lying in the arms of Satan.
He knew that there is much in this fallen world that can tempt us to sin or allow our devotion to wane.
There is nothing that can compare with our justification, the forgiveness of sin, eternal life, and our home in heaven.
God is faithful - and not only has he already delivered us from the consequences of sin and eternal separation from Himself, by grace through faith in the finished work of Christ on Calvary's cross..
Though we were dead in our sins, at enmity with God and eternally separated from Him, in His grace and love He stooped down in the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ and rescued us from slavery to sin and the eternal death sentence under which we were all placed.
We have passed from death to life, from being a child of Satan to being a child of the King of kings, from being of the old creation in Adam to being a new creation in Christ, and it is a transaction that was signed in blood on a wooden cross two thousand years ago, when Christ redeemed us from our sins.Peter urges and implores us to remember that we are simply sojourners, life-pilgrims, ambassadors of the King, on the journey of life as we pass through this world which has been cursed with sin and is being deceived and manipulated by Satan.
Eliphaz reasoned that all suffering is a result of sin and because his friend was afflicted, he questioned Job's integrity and concluded that his friend had sinned against the Lord, which Job strongly refuted.
Every evil in this world is a result of sin, and although suffering may result from our own sinfulness, we can also be afflicted through the sins of others or by an assault from the enemy of our soul.
He purified our soul at the point of salvation and continues to purify it day by day, as we confess our sin, keep ourselves in fellowship with Him and obey the truth of His Word.
They expected a warrior who would come with a battle-plan to save Israel from Roman oppression... not a suffering Servant Who would give His life to redeem the world from sin and Satan, death, and hell.
For Stephen kneeled down and cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge.
There are many that like to accuse God and blame Him for the wrongs that this world conceives, but man caused the earth to be cursed because of his sin.
We are not to constantly revisit the sins that have already been forgiven and keep on repenting of those same sins.
We are to grow from being a baby Christian, whose main focus is the importance of repenting of our pre-salvation sins and bathing in the joy of being saved, into becoming a mature believer, where we develop an abiding fellowship with the Father, by walking in the light of His glorious truth and being continuously cleansed through His sufficient grace - as we rest in our Saviour's love.
He was to identify with our sin, be crucified in our place, and pay the price for our trespasses.
He would receive the death penalty on our behalf, but the sacrifice of His sinless life would satisfy God's wrath against our gross sinfulness and the multiplied sins of the whole world.
Having paid the full price for the sin of the world through death - death could no longer hold Him in its vice-like grip.
Having been made sin for us on the Cross, the eternal Son rose again from the dead as our ever-living Saviour.
When Jesus rose from the dead, He broke the power of sin and death in the life of all who would one day place their trust in Him.
And Romans is a book that systematically and logically takes us into a fuller understanding of God's plans and purposes for salvation, for redemption, sanctification, glorification, and all that accompanies the riches of God's grace towards us, who were once dead in trespasses and sins, but have now been redeemed by the blood of the Lamb.
The plain truth of God – of Who He is - the sacrificial Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world, has been spelled out in Scripture in easy-to-understand words.
The fields were white with harvest and as long as he had life in his body, Paul knew he could proclaim the good news of the gospel of grace to those who were dead in sin and preach the Word of truth to babes in Christ and mature men of God, and so we read his thoughts, I am hard-pressed from both directions, having the desire to depart and be with Christ, for that is very much better, YET he admitted, to remain on in the flesh is more necessary for your sake.
Like the prophets before him, John was calling Israel to repent of their sin - both personally and nationally.
Those who truly repented of their sins - those who participated in John's baptism of repentance and believed on the One Who was to come, would one day be baptised with the Holy Spirit.
From that unique day, every new believer receives the Baptism of the Holy Spirit the moment they believe on Christ, for the forgiveness of sin.
The Mighty One about Whom John spoke, began to baptise those who turned from their sin and believed on the Lord Jesus, on that unique, Day of Pentecost.
Sin was judged at the CROSS for believers, and by faith in Christ, all who believe are declared righteous.
However, the sin of unbelievers will be judged through a Baptism of Fire.
May all who have been baptised into Christ be used by Him to tell forth the glorious gospel of God, to those who remain dead in their trespasses and sin.
He was to go... only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel, for He was the promised Messiah Who came to save His people from their sins.
He came at God's appointed time to put an end to transgression and sins through the sacrificial offering of Himself on the Cross.
He could read what was in their sin-stained hearts.
There were many such traditions that these pious people valued above God's Law, but their teachings were leading the people astray and Jesus summoned the crowd to Himself to explain that nothing that goes into a person from outside can defile him, just as religious ritual and Jewish traditions can never cleanse the sin-stained heart of fallen man.
Jesus went on to explain that a man's heart is defiled by what comes out through his thoughts, motives, words, and imaginations, Sin is conceived in the human heart, it takes root in the human mind, and is finally put into practice through human action: For from within the human heart come evil thoughts, which are translated into sexual immoralities; thefts; murders; adulteries; greed; evil actions; deceit; promiscuity; stinginess; blasphemy; pride, and foolishness.
We are to maintain close fellowship with our Heavenly Father as we confess our sin and walk humbly before Him.
He identified Jesus as the Lamb of God Who takes away the sin of the world, and he warned that the kingdom of heaven is near and that Israel must repent of their sin and return to the God of their fathers.
It was the eternal Son, Whom they mocked and ridiculed - Who came to earth as the Word made flesh, so that He could reveal God to man and pay the price for the sin of the whole world.
By taking the punishment for the sin of the world upon His own head..
Israel was looking for a conquering King Who would sit on the throne of David, save them from Roman domination, and set up the promised kingdom; not a suffering Servant Who had to die for their sins first.
The truth of the gospel that Peter taught on that day, caused over 3000 men of Israel to repent of their sins and to be born again into the newly formed Body of Christ. But Peter was to astonish these fledgling believers, and those that were listening to his teaching even more, by announcing that this same Jesus was not only resurrected from the dead as David foretold, but He had ascended into heaven in power and great glory and been exalted by God to sit at His right hand where He is now seated on God's heavenly throne.
We are all born dead in trespasses and sins, but when we recognise our sinfulness and our need of a Saviour, and when we trust in the death, burial, and Resurrection of our Kinsman-Redeemer, the Holy Spirit breathes into our beings the very life of our living and resurrected Saviour - and we become a new creation in Christ.
Every member of the human race is connected to Adam by birth. All are imputed with a sin nature, and the wages of sin is death.
Our sins have been forgiven by faith, and our eternal citizenship is secured for us in heaven.
By faith we are forgiven of our sins and identified with His perfect righteousness.
But the influence of the world is very strong and religious formality resides deep in the heart of all humanity. Participation in man-made rules and regulations and adherence to legalistic practices combine with men's imputed sin nature, causing many believers to be pulled back into worldly ways and revert to the basic rudiments of this world's religious systems. But Paul scolds such shallow resolve in our Christian commitment.
Such a securely sealed and secret document, could only be opened by the rightfully appointed recipient... and as John continued to watch the scene unfold, he discovered that it contained the full-force of God's outrage and wrath against sin and only a sinless Man would be worthy to unseal the scroll - but all men are sinners and all fall short of God's glory.
The shocking realisation that humanity was doomed because of sin overwhelmed the apostle who began to weep.
Maybe John realised the weight of his own sin could not be fully blotted out without the opening of the seals... for sin must be punished if victory over death and hell is to be accomplished.
So shocking is sin in the eyes of God, that the full force of His anger and wrath must be poured out in fullest measure, on the God-hating, Christ-rejecting, fallen race of man, living on the cursed earth... to pay for the accumulated sin of the world.
It was on Calvary's Cross that the full force God's wrath was poured out on the Lord Jesus Christ... the perfect Lamb of God and sinless Son of Man Whose lifeblood was shed to take away the sin of the world and to pay for the price of my sin, your sin, and the sin of the world.
But ungodly men who refuse to accept Christ's payment for their sin as a free gift of God's grace, will be punished and judged according to their works - which can never be good enough for a holy God - for there is none good, not even one.
Never forget that our crucified Lord and resurrected Saviour is the divine Lamb of God, Who takes away the sin of the world.
He is the anointed Messiah of Israel, Who came into the world to save His people from their sins.
And when He had made purification for our sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, for He also said, I AM - the Good Shepherd, and I lay down My life for the sheep.
There were many animal sacrifices given to Israel and every time an animal was sacrificed, it was a blood-splattered reminder that we are all sinners who fall short of God's glory; we are fallen creatures who need to be forgiven; we are all sinners in need of a Saviour - and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sin.
God chose to use the sacrificial system He gave to Israel as a daily reminder that we are all fallen creatures who need to acknowledge our sin and confess Jesus as our Saviour.
In the New Testament, Christ was sent to earth as the last sacrifice - the one and only perfect offering for sin.
Every animal sacrifice was another reminder that we are sinful creatures and every drop of blood that was shed, was a picture of the Lord Jesus Himself, Who would come to earth, at God's appointed time, to be the full and final sacrifice for the sin of the world - so that ALL who believe on Him would not perish but have everlasting life.
The sacrificial offering of Christ was so different by comparison with those earlier animal sacrifices, but they acted as a shadow - a shadow that was cast on the pages of history that became a heavenly reality when Jesus Christ offered Himself as the sacrifice for sin.
We cannot begin to imagine the rivers of blood that flowed from the bulls and calves, the lambs and the doves that were slaughtered in anticipation of the Saviour Who was to come as the full and final sacrificial offering for the sin of mankind.
Their blood was shed as a result of sin but could never deal with the consequences of sin.
Their lifeblood could never take away men's sins.
The blood of bulls and rams could only cover sin until the perfect Kinsman-Redeemer would come to offer Himself as the perfect sacrifice for the sin of the world - but it does expose the inherent weakness of the first sacrificial system given to Israel, for the process of atonement was never-ending.
Sin may have been covered, but the sinner had to wait until it could be fully and finally dealt with at the Cross.
No surprise that the writer to the Hebrews emphasises the value of Christ's sacrifice and the glory of the Lord Jesus: WHO... having offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, sat down at the right hand of God.
The Aaronic priests would stand in the Temple, day after day, fulfilling their role as mediator between man and God, and the high priest would enter the Holy of Holies once a year and standing before the altar, would make atonement for the sins of the people... as the blood of bulls and calves flowed continuously as a temporary covering for the sins of the people.
But as soon as Christ Jesus had offered Himself as the full and final sacrifice for sins, He sat down on God's right hand.
As we recognise the truth that Christ's sacrifice was made once for all and forever... and that by faith in Him our sins are not simply covered but fully forgiven, we can rejoice with exceeding great joy that the Mosaic Law, the Feasts of the Lord, the various priestly ceremonies and bloody sacrificial offerings of the Old Covenant, were true shadows of the glorious reality that was manifest in Christ Jesus Who has saved us from our sin and seated us together with Him in heavenly places.
Jesus used the illustration of light in much of His earthly teaching, and the apostle John and other New Testament authors frequently referred to Christ as 'the Light Who came into the world' and we rejoice to know that darkness can never overcome Him.A thick darkness has enveloped this fallen world system due to man's sin, and the eyes of every soul born into this sinful race, is shrouded in a deep blackness that can only be removed by the true Light of God Who came into the world in the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Light of the world.
His Word is a lamp to our feet and a guiding light along our pathway, for by grace through faith we have been made His children and are called to walk in the light of His love, by the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit.May the light of His love so shine through each one of us, that men may see our godly deeds, hear the Word of truth, trust in Christ for the forgiveness of sin, and glorify our Father Who is in heaven.
And then this good news of great joy was repeated to the Gentile nations in the epistle to the Romans, where we, who were dead in our sins, discover the beautiful truth that: Whoever will call on the name of the Lord, will be saved.
No matter how amazing the gospel of Christ may be, unless lost souls are told the truth about sin and salvation... and unless the good news of the gospel of grace is proclaimed universally, men and women, boys and girls, rich and poor, Jews and Gentiles alike, will remain dead in their trespasses and sins.
Not all of us may be called into the office of evangelist or preacher, but every one of God's children has a commission to be light in this darkened realm, salt in a putrefying world, God's witnesses to those that are lost in their sins, a testimony of God's grace to those who are dead in their trespasses, and a messenger of hope to those that are without hope in the world.
How shocking to realise that unless the gospel is preached to a world of unsaved people, they will neither hear the truth, nor be able to call out to the only One Who can save them from their sins and a lost eternity - but how will they hear without a preacher?
Who pledged to send a Messiah, Who would save His people from their sins.
The Seed promised to Abraham, was to be man's kinsman-Redeemer and pay the price for the sin of the whole world.
Jesus was the Word made flesh Who came to pay the price for the sin of the whole world, and He authenticated His mission and ministry through His many prophesied signs and wonders..
Paul then goes on to explain that in Christ we are dead to sin and released from the bondage of the Law, alive in Christ, and set free by the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus so that we may live our lives to His praise and glory.
Paul traces the great plan of redemption from the first man-Adam to the last Adam-Jesus; from the old creation in the flesh to the new creation in the spirit; from the old sin nature to the new life in Christ; from the curse of the Law to the freedom of grace, and points out that salvation is by grace through faith in Christ alone and not by personal merit or through works of the flesh.
He explains that they were chosen to be God's mouthpiece on earth and to bring forth the promised Seed Who would save His people from their sins and redeem the lost race of fallen man.
Paul made it very clear that Israel plainly understood that the Lord required godly righteousness by grace through faith, and not man's fleshly righteousness by works of the Law, but they refused to receive their heavenly Kinsman Who was God's chosen sacrifice for the sin of Israel as well as the Redeemer of the whole world.
But Paul also goes on to rejoice that in His goodness and grace, God's offer of salvation continues to be extended to Israel and that His punishment for their sin will not remain forever.
The Law of God demanded that only the shed blood of a perfect, sacrificial 'Lamb' could be accepted as a trespass-offering - a sin offering to pay for the price for humanity's sin.
The Lord Jesus Christ achieved this on Calvary's cross when He became our sin-substitute.
God was fully satisfied when His only Begotten Son took on human flesh, lived a sinless life and drank the cup of suffering on our account and walked to the cross, to die in our place - to pay the price for OUR sin.
Jesus, the sinless Son of Man was the one and only offering, acceptable to God, in payment for the sin of the world - the Innocent for the guilty.
He alone could become our Substitute for sin and Kinsman-Redeemer.
He exchanged His perfect righteousness and innate purity for our gross sin and shocking shame - so that we could, one day, be clothed in His perfect righteousness forever and ever - amen.
The sacrifice of a sinless life was the price that God had demanded as the full and final payment for the sin of the world, and God loved the world so much that He gave His only begotten Son, to be made sin for us.
We all recognise the sin-offering as the focal point of the Cross.
We all understand that Christ's sacrificial death was the legal requirement and the price that was demanded by God's perfect Law, and we all believe that Christ's death on the cross was the only acceptable price that would satisfy God's perfect wrath against the accumulated sin of fallen humanity.
Indeed, the Bible tells us that Christ's blood is the only acceptable payment for our sin..
and how we glorify God that Christ died for our sins, and for the sins of the whole world, so that all who believe on Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
Not only did He offer Himself as the compulsory sin-offering, as required by the Law, but also as a voluntary burnt-offering, as laid down in Leviticus.
He died as the compulsory SIN offering for our justification, but He died as the free-will BURNT offering for our sanctification.
Christ's death fulfilled ALL the legal requirement of the Sin-Offering, demanded by the Law, when He was crucified 'outside the gate' - outside the walls of Jerusalem.
When Christ went to the cross He died as the Sin-Offering on the Day of Atonement and the Burnt-Offering made freely as a love gift to the Father.
Let us reflect on that pivotal point in history, where the love of our wonderful God and the grace of our beautiful Saviour was so perfectly demonstrated in the intertwining of this duel sacrifice for us - FIRST) a compulsory sacrifice for sin and SECOND) a voluntary burnt-offering out of love.
God has not finished with Israel, which is a truth that has its roots in Genesis where despite Adam's sin, God set in motion His glorious plan of redemption for mankind - and Israel plays an important role in God's redemptive plan for mankind.
And so it was that in the fullness of time, Christ was born to save His people from their sins, and through Him, all the families of the earth would be blessed.
We who were dead in trespasses and sin and without God in the world, have been brought near to God because of Israel's transgressions, and by grace through faith in Him, we have been made children of God, forgiven of our sins, made part of the Body of Christ, been in-dwelt by the Holy Spirit and received eternal life as a free gift of God's grace.
Whether the brothers and sisters to whom he was writing were new into the faith or well-weathered, seasoned saints, they were often referred to as 'little children', for all had been sinners saved by grace through faith in Christ Jesus, all had their sins forgiven through His shed blood, and all had been given eternal life as God's free gift of grace.
All John's 'little children' were saved by grace for simply believing on the only begotten Son of God for the redemption of sin and life everlasting.
All had their sins forgiven for His name's sake.
The forgiveness of sins and redemption of our lives rests firmly and exclusively on His name's sake.
What a wonderful truth to wake to everyday, knowing that forgiveness of sins is our present possession, morning by morning: Great is His faithfulness.
What glorious grace it is to know that the forgiveness of our sins does not have to rest on our own merit or good works, but is secured on Christ's finished work on the Cross for His name's sake.
Praise God that when the aged apostle John said, I am writing to you, little children, because your sins have been forgiven you for His name's sake, that this truth is as pertinent today as it was when John penned this first epistle to all God's 'little children'.
After the coming judgement for their sin, a day will dawn when Israel will be redeemed and restored, and they will walk in the paths of righteousness and be covered with God's blanket of peace, for when the eyes of the heart is focused on the Lord, His perfect peace stills the soul and floods the heart.
The enemy will accuse you of sin and try to dislodge your trust in God's holy Word, but GOD is the one that has forgiven your sins forever – past, present, and future, and flung them all into the sea of His forgetfulness, simply because you trusted in the Lord Jesus.
But this is often asked by sinners, who do not understand that evil and suffering is a consequence of man's sin, or believers who are trying to live by fleshly works and earn God's favour.
God is the Father of mercies and Giver of all good gifts and the evil and suffering of today is an indicator of the shocking effect of sin, in individual lives and the world at large.
This question is often argued by those who fail to grasp why sin came into the world and how sin can be forgiven.
Who will deliver you from this body of sin?
From that moment, sin began to reign in the lives of Adam, his wife, and all their offspring.
The hastily sewn fig-leaf aprons with which they had tried to camouflage their sin, were no covering for these two sinners.
The animal God used to clothe Adam and Eve was to atone for their sin - to cover their sin until the price was paid at Calvary.
No doubt Adam and Eve watched in shame and horror as they saw one of the animals they had nurtured and named - butchered before their eyes, so that their sin could be covered.
Its blood was shed to pay the price for their sin.
The life-blood of a little animal, that did nothing wrong, became to Adam and his wife, their 'salvation', for God covered their guilt with its blood-stained body, for without the shedding of blood there can be no forgiveness of sin.
The animal that was slain became a bloody picture of the cruel death that Christ would face as the one and only and final payment for sin.
The same picture, foreshadowing Christ's sacrificial death as our sin-substitute, was given to Israel, centuries later.
The sacrifices God instituted through Moses, were given as a teaching-aid to point them to Christ - the innocent Lamb of God, Who takes away the sin of the world.
He is the ONLY One Who perfectly atones for the sin of all who believe.
The covering God gave to Adam and Eve pictures Christ's sinless innocence, covering our guilty sin and clothing us in His perfect righteousness.
May we never forget the price Christ paid for our sin, for we were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold but with precious blood, as of a LAMB, unblemished and spotless - the blood of Christ, the Lamb of God.
How thankful we should be that God demonstrated His own love towards us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us all - as the Substitute for our sin.
The Lord Jesus submitted Himself to His Father and willingly walked to the Cross for us - for without the shedding of His blood there would be no remission of sins for this fallen world.
He came from heaven to be a willing sacrifice for the sin of the world, but He exposed the cowardice and hypocrisy of his enemies and spoke the plain truth - that He was in the Temple every day and they did not lay hands on Him.
He came into the world to save His people from their sin.
He came to rescue His own people, but they rejected Him and His hour had finally come, when He would be the sacrifice for sin.
But the very hour that Christ would triumph over Satan, sin, death, and hell, was the same hour that He exposed the evil that was being perpetrated by the chief priests, the soldiers, the captains of the temple court, the scribes, the elders, and all the participants in this illegitimate arrest.
Step by step, Paul guided these confused Christians through the gospel message of grace - that Christ died for our sins according to the Scripture, and that he was buried, and was raised from the dead, according to the Scripture.
Our old sin nature was put to death with Christ on the Cross, and we received a new nature... the life of Christ.
Scripture teaches that we will one day receive a body like unto His glorious body... uncorrupted by sin - an immortal body of flesh and bone that will never die - for His life-blood was shed at Calvary so that we might receive His resurrected life in an incorruptible body, through the power of the Spirit.
If Christ has not been raised, then your faith is worthless, Paul wrote, and you are still in your sins!
Paul explained that when man sinned against God, all humanity was imputed with a sin nature.
But man did not recognise the wickedness of sin in his own life until the Law was given to Israel.
Indeed, the righteous requirement of the Law identified the gross sinfulness of man - in order to show people that they needed someone to save them from their sins - for they could never be justified in the eyes of God by their own merit.
The purpose of the Law is to lead us to Christ by showing how deeply we are embroiled in sin and how desperately we need a Saviour.
Indeed, Paul further likens the Law to a jailer because its impossible standard has shut all men unto sin... and the wages of sin is death.
Jesus was made sin in our place and Jesus died in our stead, for the wages of sin is death.
Jesus died as our sin-substitute.
He not only died FOR our sin but He died UNTO sin.
He not only paid the PENALTY for our sin but He also broke the POWER that sin, death, Satan, the flesh, and the Law have in our lives.
Just as He identified with our sin and death, so we are identified with His righteousness and life, by faith.
This position of honour is extended to the Lord Jesus Christ alone, for He alone is worthy, He alone is God Almighty, He alone died and rose again to conquer Satan and sin, death and hell.
The Lord Jesus not only died to pay the price FOR us our sins, but He also died AS us and in the place of us.
They were OUR sins, but He bore the punishment for us so that we would never need to be punished for them.
As the sinless Son of Man, He paid the full burden-weight of the accumulated sins of the whole world, past, present, and future, and He also identified with all who would believe on Him so that we might reckon ourselves dead TO those sins as we live our Christian life.
Everyone who would ever trust in Jesus as Saviour is considered by God to be His seed, His spiritual seed, and while the Lord Jesus walked this earth we were reckoned to be IN Christ so that when He died, we died IN Him so that we might die to those sins and live righteously.
The Lord Jesus not only died FOR the sin of the whole world, but also on behalf of all believers, by His death on the Cross and separation from the Father on our behalf.
The Lord Jesus condescended to not only die for our sins but take the cruel punishment in His body.
He suffered scourging and lashings and beatings and humiliation for us, for He was pierced for our rebellion and crushed for our sins.
He was whipped so we could be healed from the curse of sin and death and eternal separation from the Father.
The Bible, from beginning to end, points to Jesus, and this power-packed little book which details the terrible apostasy that is going to overtake the Church in the last days, similarly points to the Lord Jesus as the one and only person who can keep any of us from stumbling so that we may be presented to Him as a pure, chase virgin at His return.There are so many dangers today of which we need to be aware – not only of yielding to temptation and falling into sin, but being able to identify and avoid the influences of false teachers and apostates that are infiltrating the Church today, where an increasing number of false doctrines and teachers are flooding Christendom with another gospel.
How much more we who have an old sin nature need to keep ourselves ever covered by His protecting power and yielded to the guidance of His Holy Spirit, as we remain in Him and He in us.The little power-packed book of Jude opens by encouraging maturing Christians to contend earnestly for the sanctifying faith that works in and through the lives of born-again believers, and which will bring them to spiritual maturity.
It was because of Israel's failure to trust in God, keep His covenant, and obey His commands, that the Lord has allowed fallen man to assume authority over the whole earth... until Israel is ready to repent of her sin and accept God's anointed Son as their Messiah.
God purposed in His plan that Christ must first come to save His people from their sin, through His death, burial, resurrection, and ascension, BEFORE He could smash in pieces the kingdoms of this world system.
Sin had to be dealt with BEFORE He could grind the proud empires of the world to dust and regain dominion over the fish of the sea, the fowl of the air, the cattle of the land, and every creeping thing that creeps on the face of earth, which was forfeited by the first Adam, so many years before.
Before the world began, God knew that man would sin and that rebellion would become part of man's sin-nature.
He no doubt touched on His life, His ministry, His mission, and His work on the Cross for the forgiveness of sin, the redemption of mankind, and life everlasting, as outlined in so many prophetic books.
From start to finish, the book of Galatians outlines the deep concern that the apostle Paul showed for the Christians in Galatia who, having been saved by grace through faith in Christ for the forgiveness of their sins and having been born from above, chose to give up the glorious liberty they had in Christ (salvation, through the hearing of faith) for the meritorious work and legalistic bondage from which they had been set free.
Having been delivered from pagan superstition and slavery to sin, they were willingly prepared to forsake the true and living way, choosing rather to return to the suffocating slavery from which Christ had set them free.
They chose to turn from the law of grace back to the law of sin and death and to work for their salvation.
Having been delivered from slavery to sin by faith and having been released from the curse of the Law, they returned to a works based salvation!
It seems incredible that they willingly returned to the shackles of sin and the bondage of the Law, from which they had been fully pardoned by grace.
If there was any other way to be declared righteous before God and receive forgiveness of our sin, other than through the finished work of Christ - then His sacrifice was not sufficient!
And yet, these believers had returned to pre-Cross bondage and slavery to sin, Satan, and the Law from which Christ had set them free.
We are declared righteous by faith in the only begotten Son of God for the forgiveness of our sin and we are to continue to LIVE by grace through faith and not by works of the law.
In the first ten chapters of his book, we find Zechariah the prophet exhorting the nation of Israel to repent of their sin and to learn a lesson from the mistakes of their forefathers.
He explains how the faithful remnant will mourn deeply over rejecting their Messiah when they realise their sin, but that in His grace the Lord had made provision for their sin to be forgiven, the nation to be restored, and their land to be cleansed.
They did not understand that the Law of God, the Prophets of Israel, the Psalms, and the Feasts-days were all pointing to Christ, and that 'the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus' had set them free from 'the law of sin and death'.Today, as in those early days of Christianity, there is still much confusion about the 'gospel of God' and there are many attempts to add law to grace, and works to faith.
Jesus claimed deity, eternality, omniscience, and equality with the Father on many occasions, and the Jews of His day knew exactly what Christ meant when He called God His Father and referred to Himself as the Son of Man, when He forgave sins, or identified Himself with the holy name of God (I AM).
But Christ alone has the legal right and righteous authority to claim equality with the Father, for He was sanctified by the Father, sent into the world to save His people from their sins, and given by the LORD to become the sin sacrifice for the sins of the whole world so that whosoever believes on Him would not perish but have everlasting life.
Israel were to repent of their sin and welcome their King.
Although four hundred years would have to pass before John the Baptist became that lone voice, crying out in the desert and preaching the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins, he was to be God's final witness to Israel before, The Lord, Whom the nation sought, would suddenly come to His Temple.
Daniel had given a very specific timeline. Seventy 'weeks' have been decreed for your people and your holy city - to finish the transgression, to make an end of sin, to make atonement for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy and to anoint the most holy place.
John pointed to Jesus Who was the Lamb of God Who takes away the sin of the world.
Despite being in the midst of death because of sin, we have an assurance of great glory to follow... for we have been saved by grace through faith in Him.
Jesus may have been the Son of God through Whom heaven and earth were created, but He also came into this world as the Son of Man, the suffering Servant of Jehovah Who would give His life as the ransom price for the sin of the whole world.He had come to set up God's kingdom on earth, but His own people rejected Him and He finally set His face as a flint towards Jerusalem and the Cross.
Jesus was not advocating for His followers to start amputating their arms and legs or gouging out their eyes or tongues, but emphasising the terrible effect of sin on an individual life.Temptation to sin is not suppressed by self-mutilation, nor is it arrested by physical dismemberment, for the seat of sin is the heart and mind, not in the hand, foot, or body-member that perform a sinful act.
The wrath of God's judgement has already been poured out on Christ in our stead when He gave His life as the ransom price for our sin.
Saved, yet as though by fire.May we take to heart the serious consequences of sin and remove every element of it in our life which may cause us to fall into sinfulness, and may we also be ready and willing to share the good news of the gospel of grace with those who remain dead in their sins, and warn them of the terrible consequences of hell and God's unquenchable fire which awaits all who have not trusted in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
It is because the Bible does not white-wash sin, but identifies it as a ruinous evil which impacts the lives of every human being, that it is held in such contempt by so many people.
He also reminds us that we have a living hope in Christ, for when we finally see Him we shall be like Him... and this glorious hope keeps us pure, even as we are pure through faith in Christ - for by faith in Christ we are forgiven of our sins and covered in His own righteousness.
They are identified throughout the Word of God as rebellious, disruptive, mutinous, and seditious, and John makes it very clear in this verse: Everyone who practices sin also practices lawlessness - for sin IS lawlessness.
Lawlessness (or sin) is antithetical to godliness and purity and the lawless sinner is always at variance with the forgiven child of God.
The unsaved man does not simply transgress the law of God but is in direct opposition to Him, which is why we read that sin is lawlessness.
Praise God that there is no condemnation for those that are in Christ Jesus - their sins are remembered no more and they are accepted in the Beloved and covered in His perfect righteousness - by faith.
And yet, it is also important to be aware that although sin can be forgiven, there are always consequences for our wrongdoings and our responsibilities must always be addressed.
He was the One Who came from heaven as the Sacrifice for the sin of others, so that whosoever believes on Him would not perish but have everlasting life.
It could only reveal the weaknesses and uselessness of the Law to save man from sin.
Although the Law was perfect, it magnified man's sin and exposed the deficiencies of the earthly priesthood - for the Aaronic priesthood comprised of sinners, descendants of Levi, who were also in need of a Saviour.
They are the dry, lifeless bones of Ezekiel 37, which will only live again by the power of the Holy Spirit of God when they acknowledge their sin and receive Jesus as their Messiah-King.In this verse early in Exodus, we discover: All the persons who came from the loins of Jacob were seventy in number, but Joseph was already in Egypt The twelve tribes that make up the whole nation of Israel, are all descended from those twelve sons of Jacob.Reuben and Simeon were the two eldest children who shamed their father by their ungodly actions.
Although the northern nation of Israel had already fallen to Assyrian rule, Jeremiah's call for the southern kingdom of Judah to repent of their sins and return to the Lord, was treated with scornful disdain.
God is righteous and must punish sin, but He is also faithful to fulfil His promises to those that love Him and to reward those that place their trust in Him - for without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.
He was sent by the Father to pay the price for the sin of the whole world through His sacrificial death, but He came willingly from His heavenly home in order to become the federal Head of a new race of mankind, through His resurrected life.
Others reject the perfection, purity, plausibility, and person-hood of His humanity, but unless fully God, He would not have been good enough to pay the price of sin, for God alone is good.
It was the Father who loved the world so much that He gave His precious Son to become our substitute for sin.
And by His death, He paid the price for man's sin and destroyed the power of sin and death in the lives of all who trust in Him, thus becoming the Federal Head of a new creation of humanity.
God continues to save us from the power of sin throughout our Christian life, and God is going to save us from the presence of sin when we stand before Him in glorified bodies - and it is all by grace.
Sin and rebellion was the cause of the deluge of waters that drowned the earth in a world-wide flood so that no life remained except those that were saved in the ark.
It was sin that caused the judgement of God to be finally poured out on a God-rejecting world, who did evil continuously in His sight, but Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord and was rescued through the judgement - until finally, God's multi-coloured-mercy came shining through the dark clouds of destruction, in the form of a beautiful, multi-hued rainbow.
It was sin and rebellion that caused the judgement of water, but it was mercy and grace that caused the Lord to set His bow in the clouds as a covenant between God and the earth that He would never again destroy the world with water.
Our own sin nature rebels against the Spirit Who dwells within, and the Spirit lusts against our fallen fleshly desires, but Paul warns us not to be conformed to this world, but rather to be transformed by the renewing of our minds.
The sin nature is programmed to be conformed to the world, but the transforming work of the indwelling Holy Spirit requires the continuous and ongoing renewing of our mind, so that our thoughts are influenced by the mind of Christ, as the desire of His heart becomes our own desire and delight, and His perfect will is translated into our will.
All are under God's condemnation and the wages of sin is death.
While salvation comes THROUGH the Jewish nation, it is only through faith in the Jewish Messiah that an individual soul can be redeemed from the slave market of sin.
If was for this reason that Paul spent so much time writing his epistles and correcting the many false doctrines and corrupt teachings that were already starting to infiltrate the Body of Christ - including Jewish legalism, Gnosticism or hidden knowledge, asceticism (which attempted to train the sin nature through self-abasement), and antinomianism (which promoted a licence to sin) - to name but a few.
This shocking accusation was identified by Christ Himself as a terrible sin against the Holy Spirit.
For the Spirit is the One Who convicts men's hearts of sin, righteousness and judgement.
for He knew what was in men's hearts, and He knew that He has now been rejected by the religious authorities and would soon become the sacrificial Lamb, Who would take away the sin of the world.
But their search was not to discover the truth of His Messianic claims, repent of their sins and to acknowledge Him as God of gods and King of kings..
As the eternal Son of God He would give His life as the perfect Son of Man for the sin of the world - so that all who do the will of God, by believing in Him..
And the gift of God that the Lord Jesus spoke of to this woman-at-the-well is His free gift of salvation, which is openly available to all who will accept God's gracious offer of redemption and be cleansed of their sin, by faith in Christ.
The sacrifice of animals whose innocent blood had been shed for many centuries, was only a temporary means to cover man's sin until God's one and only sacrificial Lamb was nailed to a Cross so that the wrath of God could be poured out in full measure on His sinless head so that the price for our sin could be paid in full by Him and the power of sin, death, hell, and the Law could be broken in our lives.
Old Testament saints had an incomplete understanding of death and resurrection, for only until Christ had fully and finally broken the power of death at Calvary and triumphed over sin and Satan, was the power of death broken and the sting of death removed.
Let us seek to share the truth of the glorious gospel of Christ with those that are dead in their sins and without hope in the world, knowing that every day that passes is a day of grace when lost souls may come to a saving faith in Christ Jesus our Saviour.
The high priest is the one that stands between God and man, to offer sacrifices to Him, in order to atone for man's many sins.
For He was tempted like as we are, yet He did not sin.
Indeed, He identified so closely with us all that He was made sin for us and paid the terrible price that we so rightly deserve.
We truly can say that we DO have a Great High Priest Who understands ALL our weaknesses, for He faced the same testings that we do, but He did not sin - and He is with us today and lives inside us as we face our own troubles and trials.
The sinless Son of Man did not need to die, for sin is the reason for death, yet He chose to die and willingly gave up His perfect life so that our punishment was paid and also that we might receive His life in us, the new life in Christ, and that we might have it more abundantly.
He warned that unless they repented of their sin, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride would be silenced and the land would become desolate.
The prophet John had identified Him as the Lamb of God Who takes away the sin of the world, but legalism and false perceptions of their coming Saviour blinded the religious leaders to the truth of the gospel of God, and in chapter 17, Jesus starts to address their questions on the kingdom in order to correct their false perceptions.
They would only discover the kingdom of God by coming to a knowledge of Jesus Christ as Lord - Who was sent to save the world from sin and Satan, death and hell - and Who stood in their very midst.
Christ's kingdom of peace and prosperity can only take place when Israel repents of their sin nationally.
The Millennial Kingdom of God, about which these Jews were asking, can only happen when the nation of Israel repents of their sin, returns to the God of their fathers, and believes on the Lord Jesus Christ as their Kinsman-Redeemer - and Jesus addressed this issue in this dialogue.
MY peace I give unto you.The amazing love of God, binds us together in worship and praise to our Heavenly Father Whose loves for us is so profound, that He gave His only begotten Son to become our substitute for sin, while the supernatural love of Jesus is such that while we were yet sinners, Christ died on our account so that we might be forgiven of our sin, receive a new life in Him, become united with Christ and abide with Him forever.Faith, enables us to worship in spirit and truth.
Who was sent to earth by our heavenly Father, in order to offer up His life as the ransom price for the sin of the whole world.
No one but the eternal Son of God is good enough to pay the price for sin.
and the sacrifice for the sin of mankind had to be given by a physical MAN, who was willing to give His life as a ransom for many.
It was by His death as a perfect man that Jesus paid the price for sin..
As the perfect Man He died to pay the price for sin - and as the eternal God, Who had life in Himself He rose from the grave, so that His life would become the life of ALL who believe on His name.
And Paul also mentions the astonishing and immediate judicial changes that take place in the life of every man and woman, who trusts in the death, burial, and Resurrection of our Saviour Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins and life everlasting.
We are counselled against spiritual immaturity, emotional instability, and foolish gullibility while being warned against lying, anger, deceitfulness, unconfessed sin, covetousness, filthiness, foolish talking, and coarse jesting.
The Lord Jesus was soon to demonstrate how deep that love was for all who receive Him as their redeeming sin sacrifice, for greater love has no one than this, that the Man Christ Jesus, God incarnate, would lay down His life for His friends.
It is by His grace through faith in Christ that we have peace with God, for we have been forgiven of our sins and received eternal life - through faith in Him.
Lawlessness is a mystery that is secretly but constantly working within this world and will continue to spread like a cancer until it produces the prophesied man-of-sin - the Antichrist.
It is THEN that the man-of-sin will be revealed.
In this passage, Paul reminds them of many things the man-of-sin will do, while the prophet Daniel tells us that this satanically inspired man will come onto the world scene for seven years, during which time God's wrath will be poured out on a God-hating, Christ-rejecting, sinful world.
He told them that His body was broken for them and that His shed blood inaugurated the New Covenant, for the forgiveness of sin.
Could they not watch and pray with Him for one, short, critical hour, as the Son of Man prepared Himself to carry the weight of the world's sin on His sinless shoulders?
He was appointed to save His people from their sin, to set up His kingdom of heaven on earth, and to sit on David's throne.
The nation of Israel rejected their anointed King, which caused God's whole redemptive programme for Israel to be postponed until His Second Coming, when they will finally repent of their sin, recognise their Saviour, and crown Him as their rightful King on Zion's holy hill.
Our faithful God is the one who fed the hungry multitude, provides comfort for the broken-hearted, gives succour to the weak, strength to the weary, hope to the afflicted, and salvation to all who trust in Christ Jesus for the forgiveness of their sins - for while we were yet sinners, God in His grace provided a Kinsman-Redeemer to save His people from their sins.
Those connected with Ishmael, Hagar, the Old Covenant of Law, and the earthly Jerusalem, represent the unsaved who are in bondage to sin, slavery, and Satan.
They include all unbelievers who are dead in their sins, enslaved by Satan, at enmity with God - as well as many religious legalists and pious Judaisers who insist that we are still under the Law of Moses and not under the Law of the Spirit of life which is in Christ Jesus.
They live by faith and have been removed from the curse of the Law, for the wages of their sin was paid in full by Christ's sacrifice at Calvary.
By faith, we are no longer under God's condemnation because we trusted in the Lord Jesus for the forgiveness of sins and life everlasting.
We are now ministers of the New Covenant of grace... and all who have trusted Christ for the forgiveness of sins and life everlasting are children of the free-woman- children of promise.
There is great comfort for the people of Israel (and for all the children of God) in the book of Isaiah, for despite Israel's rebellion against the Lord and the crucifixion of their promised Messiah, God has declared that He will not forsake His people, their iniquity would be forgiven, and their sin would be remembered no more.
It was at the Cross where sin, Satan, hell, and death were defeated and a New Covenant with Israel was made through the shed blood of the Lord Jesus.
But God has permitted the destructive effects of sin to reverberate down through the centuries, as we look towards that time when Christ will return (with the Church), to reign on earth as King of kings and Lord of lords.
And their Messiah Jesus will come in the name of the Lord a second time, to save His people from their sins.
In that day, Israel's righteous Messiah Whose sacrificial blood paid the price for their sins, will be identified as the One Whose garments are stained with the blood of their enemies - for He is mighty to save.
We may be grieved by the atrocities that are taking place today, but God has appointed a day to finish transgression, to put an end to sin, to atone for wickedness, to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to set His King upon His holy Hill in Jerusalem.
But the day is coming when wicked and evil man will be called to account their sins.
The perfection of God and His perfect Law cannot be carried out by imperfect man in the power of his fallen flesh, for the old sin nature dictates that we are sinners and sinners cannot achieve perfection.
The bitter truth is that the soul that sins shall die – and all have sinned and so all have fallen short of God's perfection and are deserving of death, for the wages of sin is death.
He was made a sin offering on behalf of the human race.
Christ willingly offered up His perfect life as the perfect sacrifice, to pay the perfect price that God required for the accumulated fullness of imperfect humanity's sin, and in so doing Christ condemned sin in the flesh.
The Law cannot pardon, but the Law points out sin.The Law cannot sanctify, but the Law justly condemns.
Jesus purchased a pardon for every member of the human race, conquering sin and death, and then elevated all that would believe on His name to be children of God and joint heirs with Christ.
Jesus is the one to Whom every Passover lamb points - for just as these Passover lambs were slain their firstborn sons, so Jesus came to die in the place of sinful man. He was sent to redeem His people from their slavery to sin so that by faith in Him, they would LIVE.
It was to remind them that He alone could redeem them from the slave market of sin.
He alone could rescue His people from Satan, sin, death, and hell.
It was to be a picture of the perfect Passover Lamb Who would come to earth as man's Kinsman-Redeemer to take away the sin of the world and become the sacrifice for our sin.
When we die to self and all that the sin-soaked nature of our old life in Adam represents, we are enabled, by the Spirit of God, to live in newness of life, through Christ Jesus our Lord.
Let us reckon ourselves dead to sin and all that the old sin nature represents and let us reckon ourselves alive to God in Jesus Christ our Lord - so that by His power we may love the Lord our God with all our heart - and in His name, add to that godliness, brotherly kindness, and progress from brotherly kindness to the divine love - that is ours in Christ Jesus.
who is dead in sins, estranged from God and steeped in apostasy as recorded in the Old Testament - to the 27 New Testament chapters that follow, which deal with redemption and comfort, forgiveness and grace - and joyfully terminates with a new heaven and a new earth.
The first section has it focus on judgement which condemns sin and places the guilty sinner under God's condemnation.
Man cannot begin to imagine the physical torture that Christ had to undergo on behalf of the sin of the whole world, but the emotional and spiritual anguish that He must have endured when His Heavenly Father turned away from Him and poured out the full force of His godly wrath upon Him in payment for the accumulated sin of the world, which He carried on our behalf, is beyond our finite imagination and staggers our limited understanding.
The deeds undertaken by 'the old man' (the old sin nature - our human ability), which we received from the first, 'terrestrial' creation, when we were born of Adam, can produce nothing of value, but wood, hay, and stubble.
Faith in Christ saves us from God's righteous judgement and His baptism unto death becomes our death - NOT the removal of the filth of the flesh for the forgiveness of sin, which we received by faith in Christ, but an appeal to God for a good conscience through the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, Who is our righteousness.
When a man or woman turns from their sins to Christ and is cleansed by the washing of the water of the Word of God, the result is a good conscience before the Lord.
Although the Law identified sin, the animal sacrifices that were offered year after year cannot wash away sin.
They cannot fully atone for the sin of the people.
The sacrificial offerings were nothing more than a covering-over of sin until the true Sacrifice for sin was sent.
Only the shed blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, Who became a Man and paid the ultimate price for the sin of the world through His sacrificial death, was sufficient to pay the price of sin.
His death was not simply a covering of sin but a total washing-away of sin forever - by faith in Him.
The Law could only identify sin.
It was never intended to forgive sin.
Through His finished sacrificial work on the Cross, He became both the sin offering for the forgiveness of sin as well as the heavenly High Priest Who made the atoning offering to God.
The inadequacy of the Old Covenant with its repeated sacrifices offers a stark contrast with the adequacy of the New, where... by God's grace, Christ's single offering of Himself is sufficient payment for your sin and for mine.
Salvation is a condition of the heart - a heart that has trusted Christ for the forgiveness of sin and life everlasting.
There are many legalists who would seek to entice those who have been set free from the law of sin and death, back under bondage to the Law, by imposing dietary demands, sabbath laws, and other religious restrictions onto them.
May we be men and women who triumph over the old sin nature, with its judgemental tendencies and its propensity to discriminate against others that do not fit with our fallen sin nature.
Not only was the penalty for our sin paid in full, by grace through faith in the death, burial, and Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ, but also its suffocating power has been broken.
The curse of the Law has been lifted, the sting of death has been removed, and we have been born into the family of God and become part of a totally new creation in Christ, with our sins forgiven and our eternal life secure.As born again citizens of heaven, we have been blessed with every spiritual blessing in Christ.
First, He died to set us free from slavery to sin, and the only thing we had to do to receive forgiveness of sin and life everlasting, was to believe on the Person and Work of the only begotten Son of God.And then, as soon as we were saved, God started a new work.
The One Who is the very essence of God and Who is complete in Himself, considered your needs and mine before His own, when He emptied Himself and took upon Himself the form of a slave, for He knew that the sacrifice of Himself was the only way that we could be saved from our scarlet sins, our gross sinfulness, our selfish smugness, and our self-absorbed pride.
All have been freed from the slave-market of sin, for we all have been redeemed by the precious blood of Christ, forgiven of our sins, justified in the eyes of God, regenerated, sealed, adopted, and born again.
But in His amazing grace, He sent His Son to become sin for us so that by believing in Him, we might be forgiven and made the righteousness of God in Him.
The precious promises of God are poured into our hearts by the Spirit, and Paul cements his argument with the assurance that while we were weak and ungodly, without strength and without hope – Christ, the good and gracious God, died for us ungodly sinners who were dead in trespasses and sins.
Rather than recognising Jesus as the Passover Lamb Who would take away the sin of the world and save His people from their sin, they ignored the testimony of John the Baptist, the signs and wonders that authenticated His messianic claims, and the audible witness of His Heavenly Father Who said, This is my beloved Son, in Whom I am well pleased.
We do not have to undertake the annual cleansing rituals as laid out in the Law of Moses, but we do have to purify our hearts before the Lord - and we do this by trusting in the death, burial, and Resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sin and by living each day in a way that honours His name.
Apart from a small remnant who have become fellow-members of Christ's Body together with Gentile believers, the vast majority of Jews continue to reject their Messiah and remain dead in trespasses and sin.
Having been absent from their land for 2000 years, God in His grace allowed many of His scattered people to return to their homeland... but they returned in unbelief and for over 70 years have remained lifeless - spiritually dead in their sin and estranged from their God.
Although a form of physical restoration has occurred, there will be no spiritual renewal until they finally acknowledge their sin, recognise their Messiah, and they cry out to Him, Hosanna!!
Only the incarnate God can authoritatively proclaim, I am the Light of the world. Only He is able to lift the one that is dead in trespasses and sins out of deep darkness that has permeated man's soul.
Only He can transfer the one that is dead in sin and engulfed in darkness into the brilliance of His marvellous light.
He alone has the right to be called the Light of the world, for He came into the world, to lighten the darkness of a world immersed in sin.
Though Solomon trusted God, he had not 'proved' the Lord in the same difficult life-challenging circumstances that his father, David, had faced when enemies encompassed him on every side or when his sin consumed his peace of mind.
The Son of God was born into the human race that He Himself created in order to carry out the will of the Father - that whosoever believes on His sacrificial death and glorious resurrection for the forgiveness of sins.. might have eternal life and become ministers of reconciliation to a lost and dying world.
Christ was the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.
Christ Jesus the Lord presented this hostile group with the life-changing truth which could free each one from the bondage of the Law, slavery to sin and death, and eternal separation from God.
Pride was the sin that was found in Satan, and pride was the sin that was resident in the hearts of these religious leaders: For whoever denies the Son does not have the Father - but the one who confesses the Son has the Father also.
The truth is that Christ died for our sins, according to the Scriptures, that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day, according to the Scriptures.
May we, like the children in this Epistle, walk in the truth of God's Word and keep his commandment knowing that God, Who is rich in mercy and of great goodness, demonstrated the great love with which He loved us... in that although we were dead in our transgression and sin, He made us alive, together with Christ, and saved us by His grace.
Paul reassured these worried saints that the 'Day-of-the-Lord' which will usher in the prophesied time of judgement - and which precedes the Millennial reign of Christ, will not come until the man of sin is revealed.
He explained that God's wrath was not being poured out on them, even though there were going through much persecution - because the man of sin had yet to arrive on the scene.
The rebellious man of sin and Satan's evil plans were being held back by the prayers of the saints in Paul's day... and the man of sin and Satan's evil plans are continuing to be restrained today.
Sadly however, some interpretations of 2nd Thessalonians are only based on the initial summary statement and ignore the later verses which show that the Holy Spirit is restraining evil and suppressing the rise of the man of sin... and He is doing His restraining work through the prayers of Christians who are members of Christ's Body and His earthly ambassadors and representatives.
Once that restraining Body is removed THEN, and only then, will the man of sin be revealed.
Only after the Restrainer is removed, will the man of sin be identified and enabled by Satan to carry out his nefarious deeds and perform many lying signs and ungodly wonders - until he is overthrown by the breath of Christ, at His Second Coming.
It shows how a believer can have victory over slavery to sin - how they can grow in mature in the faith and progress in their Christian walk.
which places them in subjugation to the law and slavery to sin.
WHO will deliver me from this body of sin..?
HOW can I be separated from the fallen sin nature, that causes me to do the things I don't want to do..
Chapter 7 , which describes a Christian groaning under the heavy yoke of sin should never be divorced from chapters 6 and 8, which give the answer to the eternal question..
Paul paints an amazing picture of a man who is groaning under the weight of the law, the burden of sin and the sentence of death in Chapter 7, but contrasts this failure with the successful Christian life which is found in chapters 6 and 8 - and it is ALL found in Christ. Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord, was Paul's joyful song when he discovered that without Christ I can do nothing - but I can do all things through Christ Who strengthens me.
Paul finally arrived at the singular conclusion to the eternal problem of living a holy life that is pleasing to God.. on the one hand I myself with my mind am serving the law of God, but on the other hand, with my flesh I am serving the law of sin - on the one hand Paul wanted to serve God in his heart and mind and knew what he ought to do - but on the other hand he could not do it in his own strength, because like us... Paul was bound by his fallen, fleshly sin nature.
He is enabled to live a life that is pleasing to the Lord - and to break free from bondage to the law of sin and its terrible consequences.
We are not able to save ourselves FROM sin (justification) and we are not able to live the Christian live in our own strength (sanctification) It is ALL through Christ and Him ALONE.
It is God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ Who is to be highly praised, for He gave His only begotten Son to be born into the human race and to die for the sin of the world, so that we might be accepted in the Beloved, by faith in His saving work at Calvary, and be seated together with Him in heavenly places.
It is beyond our comprehension that God could love us so dearly, that He gave His only begotten Son into the world to be the propitiation for our sin, such that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but receive eternal life as a free gift of His grace.
The devil may come as a tempting angel of light to lure us into sin or we may encounter him as a roaring lion, but whichever guise he chooses to wear, let us never forget that as we submit to God, we can resist the evil one, and he will flee far from us.
He was the Lamb of God Who takes away the sin of the world, and He was the prophesied King of the Jews.
His teaching in those early days was only addressed to the lost sheep of the house of Israel, especially those who had repented of the nation's past sin of apostasy, through John's 'baptism of repentance'.Knowing that the message of salvation is: Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, indicates that this 'Sermon on the Mount' is not addressed to unbelievers, but a message to those who are already believers in God. Christ's 'Sermon on the Mount' points out that sinful actions are conceived in the heart, and that a false 'righteousness' is hidden within man's fallen nature.
It seems to be setting the stage to show that righteous living can only be achieved from a changed heart that has trusted in God for the forgiveness of sin – for only those who believe in Him are credited with righteousness.It is pointing out that all men are sinners, for only God is perfect.
The Law cannot forgive the sins of a sinner, but is a school-master that points lost sinners to Christ, in Whom is life and light, hope and salvation.It demonstrates that godly living emanates from an inner attitude of a changed heart that trusts in God for salvation.
He came to pay the price for man's sin and to be crowned as Israel's King of kings.Whoever may be the main target audience, the Sermon on the Mount is not for unbelievers, but sets out a pattern of holy living for Jew and Gentile believers alike, that can only come through the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit when the inner heart of a believer has died to self, and lives for Christ alone.
They also renounced Jewish legalism, which places people back under the 'law of sin and death', and they exposed the pagan cults that denied the deity of Christ or denounced His perfect humanity.
For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set us free from the law of sin and of death.
And so Paul found freedom from the power of sin, life from the icy fingers of death, deliverance from the curse of law, emancipation from the lust of the flesh, and liberty to live in newness of Christ's resurrected life - as guided by the Holy Spirit.
We were sentenced to death because of our sins and our imputed sin nature, but Christ was judged in our place, paying the full price for our sin, by faith.
The penalty for our sin was paid in full by Christ on our account, and there is no 'double jeopardy' which forbids a defendant from being tried again on the same charge.
We are delivered from the power of sin by HIS life.
There are two life principles by which a believer can live - death or life, law or grace, the flesh or the spirit, bondage or freedom, carnality or spirituality, the old sin nature or the new life in Christ.
He can submit to the old sin nature OR he can submit to the new life in Christ.
The old sin nature in the unregenerate man or the Christian who is living carnally, is defenceless against the power of the law of sin and death which is at work within every member of the human race.
Let us live our life in the power of the Holy Spirit and submit to Him in all things, knowing that there is NO Condemnation, for those of us who are positioned in Christ: For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set us free from the law of sin and of death.
Salvation is a free gift of God's grace, which comes through trusting in the incarnate Word of God Whose shed blood at Calvary paid the full and final penalty for sin: For without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.
Humanity had spiralled downward into sordid sin, ungodly practices, and rejection of the Lord: For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities, His eternal power, and His divine nature have been clearly seen and understood from what has been made so that people are without excuse.
However, forgiveness of sins and eternal life is the result of Christ's obedience on the Cross - and this is the glorious conclusion for all who will trust on His name.
As the federal head of the old creation in Adam, the entire human race has been tainted with sin.
We were born with an old sin nature and we sin because we are sinners.
Sin entered into the world affecting every member of the human race, and death came into the world and spread to all humanity, as a result of the sin of that one man, Adam.
But praise God that there is a great difference between Adam's sin and God's gracious gift in Christ.
For the sin of this one disobedient man, Adam, brought death to many.
But God's wonderful grace and His gift of forgiveness is so much better, for whosoever will may be forgiven of their sins, through one perfect Man, the Lord Jesus Christ.
This glorious truth needs to be shared with as many as possible, and Peter tells us of the Lord's desire: Not willing for any to perish, but for all to come to repentance. Let us tell as many as we meet, that although through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all mankind, because all sinned, all mankind has been redeemed through the precious blood of one Man.
How much more should who have been forgiven of our sins, clothed in His own righteousness, made joint-heirs with our Saviour and seated together with Him in heavenly places, unite our voices in great rejoicing and sing songs of praise about the majesty of his reputation, and give Him the honour He deserves.
They heard His voice, they trusted His Word, and their faith expanded to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sin and life everlasting.
You are the Messiah the Son of the Living God, was their confession, and they believed that God had sent Him into the world to save His people from their sin, and I give eternal life to them, was Christ's promise to those who believe, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand.
Had Rahab been truthful, the two Israelites would most likely have been captured and killed, but in lying to the guards she protected the men, herself, and the lives of her family... but her false witness was nonetheless a sin which can cause a dilemma in Christian circles.
All sin has to be punished by God because He is holy and just.
The prophet had warned about the great and terrible day of the Lord, and the entire nation would face judgement for her sin of apostasy.
Sin is in the world and sin has to be punished - both the sin of pagan nations and the sin of God's people, Israel.
They will look on Christ whom they pierced and mourn over their sin.
The glorious time of Israel's restoration is couched in this declaration from God, for He has promised to save His people from their sin, and His promises to Israel will never fail, just as His promises to the Church are 'yes' and 'amen' in Christ Jesus our Lord - and our present sojourn in this fallen world, is likewise hastening to its grand finale.
The story of Samson is a very sad tale that clearly shows the long-suffering grace and mercy of God towards his servants, as well as a warning that there may come a time when God's hand of blessing and protection is lifted for a season when sin crouches at the door.
He too was to have His heart pierced with a sharp blade.The poignant picture of Abraham and Isaac, points to the stark reality that God was ready and willing to sacrifice the innocent and sinless life of His only begotten Son – but after three days, Christ rose from the dead, having conquered Satan, sin, death, and hell.
The precious picture of Abraham and Isaac is a foreshadowing of the glorious truth that God the Father gave God the Son as the innocent offering Who walked willingly to the Cross as our sacrifice for sin.Christ was not only the sin offering to take away the sin of the world, and Israel's perfect and final Passover Lamb, but He was also a burnt offering – a freewill offering – a willing offering.
Jesus knew from the beginning that many in this crowd were neither circumcised in their heart nor grieving for their sin and the sins of their forefathers..
We are born with a corrupted sin nature, which is impregnated with wickedness and is at enmity with God, and we are born in a physical body that starts the lifelong process towards death from the moment we draw our first breath.
So deep was the stain of sin on the body and soul of man, that it was impossible to recondition or retrain the old fallen nature.
The old sin nature cannot be retrained or mortified; it cannot be cleansed or improved.
The old sin nature has to remain in the place of death, nailed to the Cross, replaced with a new life, the resurrected life of Christ - a new nature that we receive at salvation.
And so crimson are humanities sins and so polluted mans' sin-stained life, that every characteristic of man needs to be started afresh - for all are born in the fallen image of sinful man who was made from the dust of the earth, but only those that bear the image of the heavenly Man will see the kingdom of God.
But sin MUST be punished.
The wrath of God against the sins we commit and our inherent sin nature must be satisfied - and this could only be accomplished if a sinless substitute willingly exchanged His perfect life for our sin-stained being.
The old, soulish, fleshly life, so impregnated with sin cannot be renewed, but a new God-breathed life is given at salvation - the new life in Christ.
Let us reckon ourselves dead to sin by keeping the old sin nature nailed to the Cross by faith, and let us reckon ourselves alive to Christ as we allow His Holy Spirit to direct and govern our lives - to His praise and glory.
God is Spirit and God is eternal, but God in His grace and love clothed Himself in human flesh so that He could become the incarnate Son of God and live a perfect life clothed in mortal flesh (yet without sin) in order to qualify Himself to become humanity's Kinsman-Redeemer.
By willingly giving up His precious life on a cruel Roman cross, he enabled all who believe on His name not to perish, but have forgiveness of sins and life everlasting.
Jesus brought peace to Jew and Gentile alike through the blood of the eternal covenant, for our GREAT Shepherd of the sheep came to save all His people from their sins.
For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death. Hallelujah!
God cannot condemn you for you are in Christ and Christ will not condemn you, for He died for your sins so that all that believe on Him would not be condemned but have eternal life.
Suffering with Christ is simply a portal which translates His blood-bought believers into His eternal joy, and as sinners saved by grace, we have peace with God for the forgiveness of sin and the peace of God in our heart.
Instead of getting up and setting off towards Nineveh to carry out the Word of the Lord, we see that his actions caused Jonah to dig himself deeper and deeper into sin, selfishness, and defiance against God's clear call.
Jeremiah knew that Judah needed to repent of their sins and gross apostasy, and he prophesised of a terrible judgement, which would descend upon them if they were to disobey his pleading pronouncements.
But Judah had become insensitive to sin and they were indifferent to the increasingly intense prophetic warnings that came from the lips of the grieving Jeremiah.
How sad to realise that many are being manipulated and deceived by the enemy of our soul, who has not only infiltrated so many segments of governmental powers but has also installed itself deep within the trappings of Christendom itself - knowing that Christ died for our sins, that He rose again and ascended to the Father on high, so that whosever believes on HIM would not perish but have everlasting life.
Sinners are saved from the penalty of sin by God's grace, once and for all, through trusting in the death, burial, and Resurrection of Jesus Christ for salvation, but believers must mature in the faith and continue the process of ongoing salvation.
This ongoing salvation process, or sanctification, happens moment by moment, as the life on Christ within, saves us from the power of sin in our lives.
Since we have been justified by Christ's blood, accepted in the Beloved, and been made children of God, how much more shall we be saved from the power of sin by means of Christ's own resurrected life within?
Our Kinsman-Redeemer, Who has rescued us from our sins and seated us together with Himself in heavenly places as sons of God and joint-heirs with Christ, is currently seated on the right hand of the Majesty on high, interceding for you, praying for me, defending His children from the accusations of the enemy, and protecting the Church, which is His Body, with His never-ending intercessions to the Father.Christ ever lives and Christ ever intercedes – for He has power to save through the merit of His atoning work on the cruel Cross of Calvary and His glorious Resurrection.
For Christ has promised to save us from the power of sin, the guilt of sin, the nature of sin, and the punishment of sin, but also to sanctify to the uttermost, body, soul, and spirit as day by day His Holy Spirit is conforming us into the image and likeness of Christ Jesus our Lord.His saving grace is not only for the eternal ages to come but will be carried through to its ultimate completion, for He will never abandon any that have trusted in His name as Saviour and who have come to Him for pardon and peace.
He did not understand the spirit of the Law and the need for fallen man to have a spiritual birth - the need for sinful man to be cleansed of his sin by the washing of the water with the Word of God.
Our flesh is associated with our human nature, our human character, and our human senses, and our human nature is a fallen nature - a sin nature.
Jesus became a physical being like us, yet He was without sin so that He could pay the price for humanities sin through the shedding of His sinless, human blood.
The disciples still thought of Jesus as their conquering King rather than God's suffering Servant Who takes away the sin of the world, and so... dismissing Christ's warning of His fast approaching passion, each developed his own specific expectation of their own, elevated position in the new administration.
He explained that before salvation we were dead IN sin but after salvation we are dead TO sin.
Before we were saved we were separated from Christ by sin..
but after having been saved by grace through faith we were forgiven of our sin, joined to Christ and positioned in Him
In the previous chapter Paul explained that as believers we died with Christ and were risen with Him -we died to SELF and the old sin nature..
In Christ we are dead to sin and dead to the Law.
The Law exposes sin in our lives, which places us under the curse of the Law, which is death - i.e.
But Christ became sin for us.
Jesus Christ paid the price for every sin we committed..
The redemption price for every sin we ever committed and each righteous Law we have broken.. has been paid-for, once for ALL..
He died to pay the penalty for our sin..
but He also died to break 1)the power of sin, 2) bondage to Satan and 3) the curse of the LAW - and He did it on our account.
He died on the cross in our stead, and as members of His body we not only died to sin..but we died to the Law - which means that we were freed from its condemnation.
God ordained that by faith in Him we died to sin and we died to the Law..
Imputed sin and inherited sin is the birthright of all mankind, for sin has affected the warp and woof of the genetic make-up of every man and woman born into this human race.
We are not sinners because we sin - we sin because we are sinners by birth, guilty before God: For as it is written, there is none righteous, no - not even one.
God will never tempt a man to sin, for God hates sin and cannot look upon sin, but God will often use temptation in a man's life to test his faith, patience, and perseverance, and the one that endures the test will glorify God.
Temptation to sin must never be seen as a sin.
Temptation comes from the evil desires that lurk deep within the heart of all men, for we all have an old sin nature and we can allow these temptations to lure us away from what is good and entice us into sin.
But once such an evil desire is conceived in our heart, it gives birth to sin.
When sin is fully grown, it gives birth to death.
Although we are eternally saved and in positional union with Christ forever, sin separates us from God, for sin interrupts our fellowship with God and until we confess our sin, we are separated from all that makes for life and health and peace in our hearts.
And if we confess our sin, God is faithful and just to forgive us our sin and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
What confidence should flood our soul and what joy should illuminate our hearts, for the long-suffering, faithful God of Israel Who redeemed them out of the Egyptian bondage and restored them from their Babylonian captivity, is the same Saviour Who is faithful and true, Who clothed Himself in flesh, and came to earth in the likeness of human flesh and bled and died that you and I might also be redeemed from the captivity of Satan, and rescued from the bondage of sin.
Christ is the propitiation for our sin, and this passage helps to explain the necessity for Christ to die on the Cross so that He may rise up to life immortal and bring many sons to glory.
Indeed, it is also used to illustrate the fruitfulness of a single Christian life who is prepared to die to self and the old sin-nature and live for Christ, to His honour and glory.
He died in our place by shedding His life blood on the Cross and took the sin of the world upon His shoulders.
In the wake of Israel's sin of unbelief and murmurings against Him, the Lord graciously chastened His people for a season, before responding to their cries and restoring them into sweet fellowship with Himself.
Like them, we too have been redeemed from the slavery of sin.
The self-same Jesus Who came to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself on the Cross, and to break the power of death by means of His glorious resurrection, will appear a second time without sin.
While Paul's main audience were Gentiles, Peter's focus were Jewish believers, and to emphasise the destructive nature of sin and the need to live holy lives while reassuring his readers of God promised protection, Peter often took examples from Israel's chequered history to warn his Jewish audience of the consequences of sin and the inevitable judgement that must follow when man rebels against his Creator.
Sin must be punished if God's holy and righteous character is to remain unblemished, but the warning against profanity and vulgarity that Peter cited, has gone unheeded down through many centuries of history.
The sin of Sodom and Gomorrah was prideful rebellion and unhindered homosexuality, both of which are an abomination to the Lord and yet which are celebrated with unbridled arrogance.
But sin must be punished.
Whether it is fallen angels, the pre-flood generation, the residents of Sodom and Gomorrah or the godless nations of today, the Lord is righteous and sin must be punished - and the wages of sin is death.
It should remain as an example to ALL, that sin will not go unpunished.
They would not accept He was the Son of God, Who takes away the sin of the world.
This man was being called upon to prepare the way of the Lord, in the Gentile cities of the region, for a day was coming when Christ would lovingly stretch out His arms, as the sacrifice for the sin of the whole world, and welcome ALL who would believe in the death, burial, and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Paul's priority was to teach the truth of the glorious gospel of Christ so that men and women everywhere would be saved by grace through faith in Christ for the remission of their sins - to explain it in such a way that whoever he was teaching would hear and believe.
May we be ready and willing to forgo some of our developed biases and adopt Paul's attitude of becoming all things to all men so that the gospel of grace and Christ's sacrificial offering of Himself on the Cross for the sin of the world, may be shared to as many people as possible - so that by all means, some may be saved for the glory of God.
And Peter was one of Christ's inner circle who witnessed the honour and glory of the Lord Jesus, the Messiah of Israel and Son of the most high God, on that glorious Mount of Transfiguration.Early in his second letter, which was addressed to other believers in the faith, he called to mind that wonderful day when Jesus was transfigured before his eyes – a short while before the Lord Jesus died on the Cross, and rose again as the sacrifice for man's sin.Jesus received great honour and glory from God the Father, Peter recalls, with appropriate humility and awestruck wonder.
He is the eternal Son of God, Who became the perfect Son of Man so that He could give His life as the ransom price for the sin of the whole world - so that WHOSOEVER believes on Him will not perish but have eternal life.
He had been chosen to be the missionary to the Gentiles who were formerly alienated from God, hopelessly dead in sins, and engaged in evil deeds, but by God's grace, many were reconciled to Him through faith in Christ for their salvation.
Let us rightly divide the Word of God, study to show ourselves approved, and seek to live as we have been taught - not only being identified with His death for the forgiveness of sins, but with His new born-again life within.
Let us hold fast to that which you have, knowing that the Lord Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, and that in Him we have forgiveness of sins and life everlasting - to His praise and glory.
The scornful scoffers and deriding mockers that belie the fast approaching Day of the Lord, are unaware that every passing moment is not slackness or disinterest on God's part, nor is God's acceptance or indifference towards man's sin, but just another expression of His long-suffering grace and His unwillingness that any should perish, but that all should turn from their sin to Jesus as the substitute offering for their sins and their glorious Saviour.
We are part of the New Creation in Christ over which the Law of sin and death has no power.
My old, former sin-nature was bound to the Law of sin and death and there is nothing good to be found in that old sinful, fleshly part of me.
There is no good in the old sin nature.
As a member of the fallen human race, the Law is able to identify my sin but it can never give me the power to do good things.
My fleshly sin nature is incapable of being holy.
My fallen sin nature is powerless to carry out good things that please God.
No part of the old creation in me is good because every member of the human race is born dead in their sin.
Similarly, we have knowledge of what is good and an inner desire to do good things, but the old sin nature has no capacity to do anything that pleases God, even when we really want to!
It is sad when spiritual development is halted, reversed, or twisted through legalistic practices as demonstrated by these Galatian Christians, or by using God's free gift of grace as a license to sin as exhibited by the Corinthian Christians. May we take our own spiritual growth and that of our brothers and sisters in Christ seriously so that Christ may be formed in us, to His praise and glory.
The administration of the perfect Law which was given to Moses, pronounced sin and death on all - for the Law exposes the sinfulness of man without the means to save him.
But the Law is a vital signpost pointing sinners to Christ Who became the once-for-all sacrifice for sin, and Who alone can remove man from under the curse of the Law, by faith.
The root of sin is pride, and the biggest lie is to question the truthfulness and dependability of God's unfailing Word.
From that devastating fall of man in the idyllic garden of Eden to the final chapters of holy Scripture, we discover details of the wide-ranging repercussions of man's damning sin, and the tremendous grace that our offended God has extended towards the human race who was made in God's own image and likeness.
They determined to discover Job's sin, chastise him of his crime, and correct him with their counsel.
He wanted to plead his case before the Lord and find out why he was suffering, but his friends accused him of terrible sins and refused to hear his defence.
Some suffering may result from sin, but bad things often happen to God's children for no reason and without explanation.
How blessed is the man, is David's rejoicing cry, how amazingly favoured is the one whom the Lord does not charge with sin, and in whom is no spirit of deceit.
How blessed are those whose lawless deeds have been forgiven, and whose sins have been covered, we read.
How favoured are those whose lawless acts are pardoned and whose sins are covered over!
How blessed are those whose wrong-doings have been forgiven and over whose sins a veil has been drawn!
Oh how happy are they whose transgressions have been forgiven, and whose sins have been covered up!
Every member of the human race, Jew and Gentile alike, is born a sinner who is imputed with sin and faces eternal condemnation.
Everyone who has believed God's living Word is justified in His sight and their sin is forgiven.
Old Testament saints believed God's promises and looked forward in faith to the coming Messiah Who would save His people from their sin and bring in an everlasting kingdom of righteousness, and throughout their lives they looked forward to the coming of their Messiah.
New Testament saints also believe God's Word and look back in faith to the Cross, when the Saviour of the world bore the sin of the world and washed the stains of sin away from all who believe in Him.
Our old sin nature was replaced by a new Christ-like nature, and Paul tells us in many places to reckon ourselves dead to the old sin nature and alive to the new life in Christ.
As Christians, we can submit to our old sin nature or we can live as unto the Lord.
Let us choose to live godly in Christ Jesus and put away the old sin nature, which is idolatry.
I am sure that Solomon, who probably authored these wise words, had heard the contrite prayer of his father David, who confessed that the sacrifice that God so desires is a broken and contrite spirit, for the king had learned that God will not reject a truly penitent and repentant heart, a heart that in turning from sin changes direction to look to the Lord.
He announced the birth of Samson to Manoah and his wife, and He appeared to David by the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite, when the king sinned against the Lord and terrible judgement was poured out on the people because of his sin.
This was the time the religious leaders committed the unforgiveable sin against the Holy Spirit by denouncing Christ's miracles as works of Beelzebub.
He urges all who are burdened with sin to take up His yoke and to learn of Him: For My yoke is easy and My burden is light. What a striking contrast with the proud Pharisees who bound heavy burdens on the people!
Because Abraham demonstrated His utter trust in the Lord through the actions he took and the inner resolve of his heart, God in His grace prevented Abraham from slaying Isaac by providing an alternative sacrifice... but God used it as an illustration of His own beloved Son, Whom He would send to be a sweet-smelling burnt offering before the Lord and the one-and-only sacrificial offering to pay the price for the sin of the whole world.
Just as Isaac carried the wood for the offering and Abraham built the alter - so a wooden Cross was laid upon Christ as He walked to mount Calvary - the place appointed by the Father to sacrifice the Lamb of God - Who was nailed on the Cross as the sacrificial offering for the sin of the world.
There are many such parallels that can be identified between the offering of Isaac by his father Abraham and the sacrificial offering of the Lord Jesus Christ by His heavenly Father, Who loved the world so much that He gave His only begotten Son to be man's Kinsman Redeemer and the sacrifice for sin.
David knew that he was a sinner in need of God's forgiveness, but he also knew that it was not his sins that caused his enemies to despise and abhor him, for he had done them no wrong.
It is not what we know intellectually that returns us into fellowship with the Father, but simply trusting in His Son for the forgiveness of sins and abundant, everlasting life.
He is Jesus; the Word made flesh and God incarnate Who came to earth as the Sacrifice for sin and to give His life so that by faith in Him, we too might live.
The trial that comes our way is not a stick of punishment from an angry God for our misdemeanours, but the corrective, chastening rod of our loving Heavenly Father Who loved us so much that He sent His only begotten Son to pay the price for our sin so that by believing in Him, we might receive forgiveness of sins and life everlasting.
He reminds us of the eternal glories that are kept in heaven for all who are in Christ Jesus, and admonishes us against living our lives in the lust of the flesh, like the unsaved Gentiles who are slaves to sin and without God in the world.
How vital to maintain ongoing communion with the Father, by acknowledging our sins, confessing our spiritual poverty, and admitting our need of His guidance and grace.
However, when Adam sinned he not only lost his position of authority over the earth but was imputed with a sin nature, and the wages of sin is death.
Although we read that Adam was made in the image of God, his likeness to the Lord was marred by sin, his character was blemished, and a sin nature was imputed to him - so Adam knew what was good without the power to do it - and knew what was evil without the ability to avoid it.
Because of Adam's sin, the image and likeness of God is marred in every member of the human race.
Love is the fulfilment of the law, for the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set us all free from the law of sin and death.
However, it goes deeper than this, for knowingly causing a brother to stumble through an action that may be lawful... becomes a sin in the eyes of God if it causes that brother to stumble.
Paul is saying that although you may know the liberty you have in Christ and have every right to partake in a particular activity, if a weaker brother sees you doing something which he considers to be sinful... because his inner conscience forbids it... then to keep on doing it becomes a sin - because your freedom weakens his faith, rather than building it up.
Paul is arguing that if our greater awareness of our freedom in Christ causes a weaker Christian to stumble in their faith or wounds their fragile conscience, it is not only a sin against that brother but also is sinful in the eyes of God, and dishonours the Lord Who bought us.
There is no question, as one follows this man's unfolding train of thought, that he had his priorities right, and the private place of his heart contained the personal treasure that is found in Scripture, as he cries out to the Father, Your Word I have treasured in my heart, that I may not sin against You. This is the grateful cry of a sinner, saved by grace, whose dear desire is to love the Lord and honour Him with all his heart, and soul, and mind, and strength.
It is necessary for correction and training in righteousness, and the heart is the best place to store this heavenly treasure so that we might not sin against the Lord, Who bought us with His own precious blood.
To do so will enable us to resist the accusations and taunts of the enemy, deter us from going astray, protect us from the ravages of sin, guide us into all truth and instruct us in righteous living.
Hiding the Word in our hearts is the most powerful antidote against sin, the world, the flesh, and the devil, and is the greatest influence to live a holy and perfect life.
The Law was given to the redeemed nation of Israel, to expose sin and teach them how to be a holy people - sanctified unto the Lord.
The pre-Cross Law of Moses given to Israel and the post Cross 'law of life', given to the Church, tells believers how to remain in fellowship with the Lord and lays bare overt and covert sin, in the lives of redeemed people.
Man was made in the image and likeness of God and the wilful taking of a man's life, or as Christ pointed out, an attitude of hatred in one's own heart for another person is a sin and considered by God as murder.
The Word of God teaches us to have deep respect for human life and behind this important command is God's programme for the preservation of society - for every member of the human race is imputed with a sin nature.
Satan was a murderer from the beginning, and in Genesis we read how murder was one of the first sins to be committed by Cain.
The apostle John explains how pride and envy is the root cause for this terrible sin.
Righteous prayer emanates from an obedience to God's Word and a mental attitude of love for Him, which was initiated by God Himself Who first loved us by giving His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
The earth and everything on it will be found to be deserving of judgment, for the old creation has been tainted with sin and God will make all things new.
It was God's grace that sent Christ into the world to be the acceptable sacrifice for your sin and mine.
Righteousness outlines our relationship with God, for having been forgiven of our sins, we have been placed into right relationship with Him and it behoves us to live righteously before Him all the days of our life.
Every year since their escape from Egypt, Jews and Jewish proselytes celebrated the Passover, which looked back to their salvation from Egyptian slavery and forward to the promised Messiah Whom John the Baptist identified as Jesus, the Lamb of God Who takes away the sin of the world.
Passover took place the day before the celebrated Feast of Unleavened Bread, when yeast and any leavened food was removed from Jewish homes, representing the purging of sin from their individual lives.
In the same way after supper, He also took the cup and said, This is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many, for forgiveness of sins.
This is to represent My blood, which is shed for many for the forgiveness of sins.
Jesus was the eternal Son of God Who has become the perfect Son of Man, for this is the blood of the covenant - Christ's blood which is poured out for the forgiveness of sins.
They missed their most glorious opportunity and caused the kingdom of heaven to be postponed... until a time yet future when Israel as a nation will repent of her sin and cry out to her Messiah for salvation.
They were anticipating a golden reign of peace and prosperity but ignored the need to repent of their sins and believe in Jesus as Lord and Saviour.
He had come to save them from their sin and to bring in a heavenly kingdom, rather than the earthly one for which they yearned so deeply.
He was born to die as the sacrifice for sin so that by faith in HIM they could be saved from the penalty of sin and receive life eternal.
They wanted salvation without the Saviour... but the price of sin had to be paid in full and so the time came for judgment to come upon this fallen world so that the ruler of this world could be cast out.
The Lord Jesus knew that before He would wear the glorious crown as Israel's Messiah and before He was honoured as Saviour of the world, the price of sin had to be paid, and so judgment was decreed upon this wicked world when the ruler of this world would be stripped of his authority.
Jesus had to face death on the Cross alone for you and for me, because He is the only sacrifice for the sin of the world and the judgement of God was to fall on HIM instead of us.
It strives to maintain an uncompromised gospel and to expose the various heresies that were infiltrating the early Church and Jude strongly denounces those that use God's grace as a license to sin.
Rebellion is the sin of witchcraft and is exemplified in the lives of those who display contempt for authority and flaunt their ungodly attitude through disrespect, disorder, rioting, and violence, which eventually gives way to insurrection and anarchy.
Abraham looked forward prophetically, but we rejoice to keep in remembrance that historic occasion when Christ died for our sins, was buried, and raised from the dead.
Christ died in our place to pay the price for our sins so that we could be made righteous, imputed with His righteousness, and become the righteousness of God in Him.
As members of a fallen race, we were unfit for the glories of heaven, for sin had disqualified us and rendered us dead in our trespasses and separated forever from our Creator.
There is no merit in any one of us, and all our attempts to please God through religious strivings, self-abasement, fleshly works, or prescribed penances are of no effect, for the price of sin could only be paid for by the shed blood of the sinless Son of Man.
God in His grace gave His only begotten Son to die a cruel death as the purchase price for the sin of the world, and that ALONE is the criteria for the forgiveness of sin and life everlasting.
It was GRACE that caused God to send His only begotten Son to be the sin-sacrifice for you and for me, but it is the BLOOD of CHRIST that cleanses us from all sin, through faith in Him.
It was GRACE that caused the eternal Son of God to set aside His glory and be made in the likeness of sinful man (yet without sin).
He did this so that sinners such as you and I could be redeemed from the pit of sin and death and saved from eternal separation from our Creator, through faith in Him.
The wonders of salvation and mercy of God that forgives us our sins and imputes us with Christ's righteousness is joy indeed, as is the glorious hope of our eternal home that God has prepared for all those that love Him.
He wanted to rejoice in the forgiveness of sin and life everlasting, by faith in Christ.But the Body of Christ had been slowly and stealthily infiltrated by certain vulgar individuals who were denying the efficacy of the blood of Christ, and adversely influencing the faith of others.And so Jude wanted to remind his fellow believers of the fate of those people who deny the truth of the gospel and blaspheme the name of the Lord, with their satanically inspired lies.He reminded them of the terrible fate of corrupt cities in the time of Abraham.
The men of the city even lusted after the two angels who entered the city to save Lot and his family from the judgement which was about to fall.When a person, nation, or faction of society becomes so degenerate, God not only gives them over to their evil pursuits, but finally destroys them by the breath of His righteous judgement.Jude used Sodom, Gomorrah, and the cities around them as a warning to all who choose to turn the grace of our God into lewdness, by denying the shed blood of Christ for the forgiveness of their sin.
Christ is the eternal God Who chose to come to earth and be clothed in human flesh, living His life just like we live - and yet He was not born with a sin nature as we are, for He was conceived of the Holy Ghost - and Christ lived a perfect life during His 33 years sojourn on earth.
He had to be born into the fallen race of humanity - who had rebelled against their Creator and were under the curse of sin and death.
God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son to pay the full and final price for the sin of the world - and those who choose to believe in the Him are not condemned, but become one with Christ - for there is no condemnation for those that are in Christ Jesus.
But Christ's sacrificial death and glorious resurrection was the one and only price that a holy and just God could accept in full payment for sin... and so we read that Christ tasted death for EVERYONE..
and are removed from the curse of sin, death and hell forever - praise His holy name.
Jesus came to die for the sin of everyman, because all have sinned.
Jesus came to call all men to repentance, to turn from their sins and to turn back to God, for there are none righteous, not even one.
All men need forgiveness of sins in order to be brought back into a right relationship with God if they are to enter the kingdom of heaven, for Christ came to call sinners to repentance.
Jesus came to call ALL sinners to repentance and to pay the price for the sins of all who would believe in Him, but those that were righteous in their own eyes, due to their sanctimonious religious sacrifices and strict adherence to the letter of the Law and Jewish traditions, were impervious to Christ's entreaties.
Those who reject His message of salvation and remain proud, unrepentant, and self-righteous, forgo the eternal benefits of the glorious gospel of grace, and remain dead in their trespasses and sins.
Time and again, He rehearsed the need for sinners to acknowledge their fallen state, to recognise their need for salvation, and to turn from their sin and look to Him Who alone has the words of eternal life.
Sinners who believe in the death, burial, and Resurrection of Jesus Christ as their sin-substitute have the resurrected life of Christ within, and nothing can alter their eternal destiny.
Their salvation is by grace through faith in Christ's finished work on the Cross, and forgiveness of sins and eternal life are two of many heavenly benefits that every sinner receives by grace through faith in the only begotten Son of God.
Throughout it all we read that Job did not sin with his lips.
Although Job did not understand why this evil had befallen him, he did not sin with his lips and refused to blame God for his misfortune - unlike his undiscerning wife.
Now that you are well, Christ warned the man, do not sin anymore, in case something worse happens to you. In this case it was his sin that had caused this man's paralysis, and Jesus connected sin to his sickness.
Christ's Sabbath-day healing was linked to his sins being forgiven, which caused the religious leaders to become angry and fearful.
Jesus had every right to heal on the Sabbath Day and to forgive sin.
However, in His compassion, the Lord took this opportunity to tell them the truth, even though most would remain blind to the truth and dead in their sins.
Jesus not only healed on the Sabbath, forgave sin, and called God His Father, but He also had the confidence, or audacity, to tell them that He had the words of eternal life within Himself!
At salvation, the soul that is dead in trespasses and sin, receives Christ's new, resurrected, eternal life, and the born-again child of God becomes part of His New-Creation-In Christ!
The NEW Life that Jesus promised to the narrow-minded religionists of His day, through faith in His name, is the eternal life that the Father gave to the Son, when He raised Him from the dead, to enable Him to give newness of Life to whomsoever He chooses - to those who believe on His name for the forgiveness of sin and life everlasting.
The Lord Jesus was sent to earth to redeem a fallen race of sinners who were dead in trespasses and sin, and enslaved by Satan, sin, death, and hell.
Sin had alienated the entire human race from God and placed every one of us under His eternal condemnation.
We should have pity for those that hate us because earlier in the passage, we are reminded that those that continue to be entrapped by Satan in this fallen world system do not have the spiritual capacity to know God and the love of God Who sent His Son to die to pay the price for their sin.
So let us not be surprised if the world hates us, but let us pray for those who are lost in their sin and at enmity with God and pray that they open their hearts to Jesus and acknowledge Him as their Saviour and Lord.
But following His pronouncement of wrath against these sin-ridden nations, the Lord proclaims His justified punishment on Judah and Israel - for His own people had broken His covenant, and His chosen inheritance had spurned God's goodness and grace.
Who was sent to save His people from their sin and Whose death, burial and resurrection paid the price for the sin of the world - for whosoever would believe on His name.
We who were born in trespasses and sins, were groping about in deep darkness before we trusted in Christ for salvation and became children of light in the Lord Jesus.
Too often throughout their history, the people of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord and in His justice, God was required to carry out the serious consequences of their sin.
But despite His legitimate case against His chosen people, in His righteous wrath God, as always, remembers mercy, and so we read: I, even I, am the One who wipes out your transgressions for My own sake, and I will remember your sins no more.
So in His grace and mercy we rejoice to read: I, even I, am the One who wipes out your transgressions for My own sake, and I will not remember your sins..
He knew the terrible consequences of their sin would reach completion with the destruction of Jerusalem and their captivity in Babylon.
Having condemned their wilful infidelity to God, their insensitivity to sin, and their hypocritical religious practices, Jeremiah records a succession of strange, personal experiences, where he was instructed to act out God's prophetic warnings to the people.
So severe was the judgement of which Jeremiah forewarned, that he wrote that the sin of Judah was written with a diamond-tipped iron stylus which was engraved on the tablet of their hearts.
He provided manna in the wilderness and water from the Rock for His people Israel, and He prepared the Seed of the woman - the promised Son of Abraham, Who would shed His blood as the purchase price for the sin of the whole world.
Turn to Me and be saved, all the ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is no other.There is only one way to be saved, and God Himself proclaimed this to the nations: I have sworn by Myself, was His sovereign challenge, the Word has gone forth from My mouth in righteousness and will not turn back – that to Me every knee will bow, and every tongue will swear allegiance.God in His grace, extended His hand of salvation to the Gentiles, if they would turn away from their idols of wood and stone, and trust in the Lord for the forgiveness of sin and eternal salvation.That same gracious hand of reconciliation continues to be extended today, to whosoever will hear, answer, and believe in the One Who paid the price for the sin of the world – the shed blood of a perfect sacrifice – Jesus Christ the righteous.In the light of New Testament revelation, we know: At the name of Jesus every knee will bow, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.The message of salvation is one of hope and blessing to those that believe, and one of condemnation and eternal separation from God for those that refuse to confess His name.May we be ready and willing to go into the world, whether at home or abroad, and tell the good news of salvation to the lost – to Jew and Gentile alike: For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life, through Jesus Christ our Lord.
When we start to trust in anything other than the Lord Jesus, we are looking to the wrong source of supply and allowing the old sin nature to govern our lives, rather than the new life in Christ which we received at salvation.
Sinner and saved alike should never self-righteously point the finger of accusation against the sin of others, for all sin in God's eyes is equally detestable to Him and is equally deserving of eternal damnation.
We who are saved by grace through faith in the shed blood of Christ Jesus, have no right to consider ourselves superior to unsaved humanity, for our heinous sin put Christ on the Cross, and the inestimable price of our sin was paid for at Calvary.
He washed away our sins by faith in Christ's righteousness and not due to any merit on our behalf, and the more we accusingly decry the sinful acts of others, the more we condemn ourselves.
Let us seek to share the good news of the gospel of grace with many who remain dead in their sins and under God's righteous condemnation.
Whether wilfully or through a small series of downward steps, we too can find ourselves straying from the paths of truth and righteousness, but God is ever ready to demonstrate His never-failing gracious love and tender mercies to any of His children who turn from their sin and call on His name for help.
I wonder if the yearning in his heart for the salvation of his fellow-Jews was heightened, when he recalled the stoning of Stephen and heard his Christ-like prayer, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge. (Lord, lay not this sin on Saul of Tarsus).
The dear pleasure of Paul's heart and his deep spiritual burden was for Israel's salvation. His personal longing and pleading prayer was that God's chosen nation would believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and place their collective trust in His sacrificial work for the forgiveness of their sins.
However, Jesus was the final sacrifice for their sins - the ultimate sacrifice for sin.
He was the definite Passover Lamb, the final Sin Offering, the perfect Burnt Offering, and the One to Whom the Law and the prophets pointed.
While a genuine believer will not lose his salvation under these circumstances, he will most certainly be judged for this gross offense. Hebrews points out that a Christian who sins in this way will be severely chastened by God and concludes with these sombre words: It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
May we read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest the instructive and informative teachings in Hebrews and take special heed of those passages that war us against insulting our God and Saviour Who died for our sin and rose again so that through faith in Him we might be born from above, declared righteous, and receive the riches of His goodness and grace freely and without cost.
He came as God incarnate – fully God, yet fully Man so that His shed blood would pay the full price of mankind's bottomless swamp of sin.His claims were authenticated in word and deed, by the fulfilment of every prophecy pertaining to His first coming.
He would rise from the dead and, in so doing, break the power of sin and Satan, death and hell, for all who would trust in Him.And early in His ministry, He stood up in His hometown synagogue to declare, The Spirit of the Lord is on Me, because He has anointed Me to preach good news to the poor.
He has sent Me to proclaim freedom to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set free the oppressed.Jesus pronounced the fulfilment of this ancient prophecy from Isaiah, and the people there wondered at the gracious words that fell from His lips, yet they sought to slay Him for they could not accept the truth – but He passed through their midst, for His time had not yet arrived.Although Jesus was rejected in His hometown of Nazareth and an attempt was made to kill Him, He fulfilled this and many more astounding ancient prophecies, over the course of His life.The Spirit of God was indeed upon Him, for He submitted to the leading of the Spirit throughout His life, spoke only those things He heard from the Father, carried out His Father's will, and fulfilled every prophecy relating to His first advent.He did preach the good news of salvation to the poor, proclaiming freedom from sin, Satan, death, and hell – by faith in Him.
He raised the dead, turned water into wine, fed multitudes of men and freed those who were oppressed through the good news that He came to bring – and He gave His life as the ransom price for the sin of the world on a wooden cross, two thousand years ago.
The only reason God is able to deal with sinners in this way is because the Lord Jesus paid the penalty price for our sin.
In this Church age, we are called to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins and life everlasting.
We are all one in Him and have been commissioned to be ministers of reconciliation who share the good news that Christ died for our sin, was buried, and rose again the third day - and all who believe on Him will not perish but have everlasting life - and it is all by faith.
It details the glorious plan of salvation and the enormous sacrifice of Christ on the Cross, whereby fallen man is not only released from slavery to sin, delivered from eternal condemnation, and reconciled back to God, but also saved by grace through faith in Him, made a new creation in Christ, made a citizen of heaven and a joint-heir with the Son of God, bestowed with the riches of God's grace, in-dwelt by the Holy Spirit, eternally secure in His gracious love, and so much more.
When Christ shouted, It Is Finished, He had paid the full price for our sins, and there is now no condemnation to all who believe on His name.
Christ was fully identified with sinful man when He was made sin for us, on Calvary's Cross.
He was sent by God to be the one and only offering for sin and as His blood-bought children, we are identified with His finished work.
Christ’s triumphant victory over sin, death, Satan, and hell, becomes our triumphant victory too, and the filthy rags of our old life in Adam are replaced with the glorious garment of righteousness which are imputed to us because of our new life in Jesus Christ, our Lord and Saviour.
Christ's gained a triumphant victory over sin and death on the Cross, which climaxed with His glorious resurrection from the dead... and this verse gives insight into what His glorious resurrection means for all who are in Christ.
Those who are in Christ will claim His full and final victory over sin and death, the grave and hell... at the Rapture of the Church, when the dead in Christ are raised in incorruptible bodies.
Sin entered into the world by one man, and because of sin - death passed onto all men for all are sinners and all are in need of salvation.
It was sent to the Church in Rome and teaches salvation is by grace alone through faith in Christ, which has set us free from slavery to sin through the fleshly works of the Law.
It causes them to fall from grace and places them back under the law of sin and death, rather than living in the freedom of 'the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus'.
It is not a licence to sin but liberty to live for God.
God maintains His supreme authority over the world, but because sin has infected the whole of creation, He permits bad things to happen to believers and to unbelievers alike.
It is sin that has caused the angelic conflict to rage in heavenly places throughout history.
God does bless His people, however it is wrong to suggest that the reason a Christian that is going through a difficult time is due to their sin.
God does bless His children, and although we need to confess any sin to the Lord, we should never assume that difficult circumstances are always a result of our wrongdoing, as it shows a lack of faith in His Word and distrust of His promises.
Salvation must rest on a genuine, bona fide heart-faith in God and His Son, Jesus Christ Who was sent by the Father be the sacrifice for the sin of the whole world.
But this is NOT biblical, and again, a systematic study of salvation (soteriology), clearly shows that believing on the Lord Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins is sufficient for salvation.
God alone knows if we truly believe in our heart that Jesus died for our sins, was buried, and rose on the third day, according to the Scripture.
And when a person believes on the Lord Jesus Christ in their heart for the forgiveness of their sins - God knows and He saves.
Only God can forgive sins.
And when a sinner confesses with their mouth to God that he believes in the Person and Work of Christ and that 'Jesus is Lord', God is faithful and just to hear our confession and forgive us our sins - for God hears and He saves.
Verse 12 explains that the ten horns are the ten kings who give their authority and power into the hands of the 'beast' - that satanically inspired ruler, who will emerge as the man of sin; the antichrist.
Together they will make war on: 'the Lamb' Who takes away the sin of the world, through His shed blood at Calvary.
Many speculate about the identity of this 'man of sin', but the Bible tells us that he will remain unidentified until the Church is removed from the earth at the end of this dispensation of grace.
Christ not only removed the sin-barrier between God and man through the sacrifice of His body on the Cross, but He also tore down the dividing walls of partition that separated Jew from Gentile, uniting them together in brotherly love, and making them 'one new man' in Christ.
How glorious to understand that we who are 'born again' are dead to sin and that the power of sin has been broken in our lives - and that the day is coming when our bodies will be made perfect, for we shall be with Christ Jesus our Lord and see Him as He is.
God knows that those that trust Him and believe His Word are truly rich – for the outcome of believing on the Lord Jesus Christ is forgiveness of sins, peace with God, a new life in Christ, the indwelling Comforter, joint-heirship in Christ's coming kingdom, and a glorious and eternal heavenly home, among a multitude of wonderful blessings that are showered on all who are rich in faith by trusting His Word.
The Word of God is an inextinguishable lamp to guide us along the right path, and it is a radiant light that banishes the shadows of uncertainty, by illuminating the next step in this sin-soaked world.
They are not told the way of salvation but are presented with the lie - that they can ignore God's Word, disobey His commands, and wilfully participate in sin, with no repercussions.
It is faith in the finished work of Christ on the Cross for the forgiveness of sin, and His glorious Resurrection from the dead that saves mankind from their sin.
It called for God's rebellious nation to repent of their sin and warned of imminent judgement for both Gentile nations and God's unrepentant people.
FIRST... when He came as the suffering Servant and Lamb of God Who takes away the sin of the world - when He was initially despised and rejected by His own people, and SECOND... when He returns with power and great glory as the Lamb on the throne, (the Lion of Judah), when peace like a river will flow throughout the land.
They were to testify of the goodness and grace of the Lord to those who were dead in their sin.
Isaiah and other prophetic voices had warned for centuries that the apostate kingdoms of Israel and Judah would be punished for their sin, forcibly removed from their homeland, and sent into exile if they did not repent.
He brought back some of His faithful people from the Babylonian dispersion and at the appointed time, God sent His Son into the world to save His people from their sin.
To fulfil prophecy, Jesus came to redeem His people, Israel, preaching repentance of sin and the gospel of the Kingdom.
As the sinless Son of God, He was qualified to pay the price for sin - for He was made in the likeness of sinful man YET there was no sin in Him.
As the perfect Man without sin, He was qualified to die on the Cross as the sacrificial offering for the sin of the world.
Being the radiance of God's eternal glory and the exact representation of His Father's perfect essence, the Lord Jesus was the visible representation of the invisible God, and not only did He come to die for our sin but He also came to show us the perfect nature and pure attributes of His Father in heaven.
His sacrificial death paid the penalty for our sin, but the icy grip of death could never hold Him in the grave, because eternal deity possesses immortality and perfect, sinless manhood is not subject to the sentence of death nor the curse of the Law (and we who believe Him, who are in positioned in Christ, are similarly not subject to the sentence of death or the curse of the Law - for by faith in Him we are accepted by God in the Beloved).
Not only were the apostles among the many eye-witnesses of the resurrected Christ during those 40 days between His Resurrection and Ascension, but the crowds in Jerusalem who were listening to the blistering truth from Peter's discourse that day, had themselves been spectators to all that had transpired on that momentous Feast of Passover, only fifty days before when the sky turned black for three hours and the veil of the Temple was torn in two from top to bottom - giving all who will believe on Him forgiveness of sin, life everlasting, and access to the heavenly throne of grace.
Let us similarly tell all in our sphere of life: This same Jesus Who died on the Cross to pay the price for our sins, was raised up again by God, to which we too are witnesses, for we who were once dead in our sins have been made alive in Jesus Christ our Lord.
The Word of God exposes our innermost thoughts and desires, and the one who trusts in Christ as their Saviour has had their scarlet sins forgiven forever and has been covered in Christ's robe of righteousness.
May we be endowed with the mind of Christ, for although He was the Son of God, He learned obedience by the things that He suffered and humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross, to pay the price for the sin of humanity and to ransom all those who trust in His name.
Every man and woman that has ever drawn breath is born dead in trespasses and sins and is at enmity with God. Fallen humanity is separated from our holy God by an unbridgeable sin barrier.
But even when we were spiritually dead in sin... totally alienated from God and without the slightest hope in the world, God provided access to Himself.
Because of His sacrifice on the Cross, those who have trusted Christ by faith have been quickened by God and made alive in Him, despite being spiritually dead in our sins.
Although we were spiritually dead in our trespasses and sin, we have been made spiritually alive by faith in Christ’s work on the Cross.
The inexhaustible wisdom and love of God is reflected in these blessed words, God has made us alive together with Christ, (by grace you are saved). From the terrible curse of the Law and the irreversible state of sin and death - which is the fixed and final state of all mankind - the divine nature of our merciful God has reached down to man, in a providential display of His abundant supply, through His unconditional covenant of grace.
By His redemptive work, we have been made a new creation in Christ, fully pardoned from sin, endowed with eternal salvation, permanently in-dwelt with His Holy Spirit, and forever accepted in the Beloved, by our Father in heaven.
Even when we were dead in sins, God made us alive together with Christ and is fully satisfied with the price that was paid on the Cross for our sins.
May we never become so familiar with the truth that when we were dead in our sins, God quickened us together with Christ, and saved us by God's grace.
Long my imprisoned spirit layFast bound in sin and nature’s night;Thine eye diffused a quickening ray,I woke, the dungeon flamed with light;My chains fell off, my heart was free,I rose, went forth, and followed Thee.My chains fell off, my heart was free,I rose, went forth, and followed Thee.
He describes the calamitous impact of their deceptive teachings on those who are deceived by their lies and enticed back into worldly pursuits and all sorts of sin.
Such people remain spiritually dead in their sin with an unchanged fallen nature which is at enmity with God.
Although there may be times in their lives when they fall into sin, God has promised that if we confess our sin He is faithful and just to forgive us our sin and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
During Christ's absence from the earth, those who believe on His name have been entrusted with a life-work that proclaims the gospel of grace to a lost world, so that men, who are dead in their sin and estranged from God, may know the truth, be saved by grace through faith in Christ and find peace with God.
He is blessed to be reconciled to God and to have peace with Him through the forgiveness of sin.
Jesus, the God-Man, became the Mediator of a New and better Covenant because He gave His life as the ransom price for the sin of the world and was raised to life – based on the power of an inextinguishable life.Jesus was fully God and fully Man.
As MAN, He offered Himself as humanity's sacrifice for sin.
He shed His own lifeblood and died on the Cross to pay the price for the sin of the World.
Christ was not born with a sin nature like the rest of humanity, and although fully God and having all the divine attributes of the Godhead, He had to learn obedience by the things that He suffered.
He had to acquire a full understanding of manhood and the human condition if He were to identify with men and become humanities substitute for sin.
We live in a fallen world that was a result of man's sin.
Evil, pain, disasters, and death are the result of sin, and God in His grace set out to conquer sin, death, and hell by sending His only begotten Son to become the propitiation for our sins - and not for ours only but for the sins of the whole world.
But all good and perfect gifts are from our faithful Father in heaven, and all the evil that has engulfed this fallen world has its root in sin.
Praise God that sin shall not have dominion over us, and our Saviour has already broken the power of sin and death in our life - for God in His grace chose to conquer sin, death, and hell, by sending His only begotten Son to become the propitiation for our sins.
In Him is security and salvation for all who believe, for by Him sin and death has been conquered through the sacrificial offering of Himself for each of us, and through Him, we have access to our Father in heaven for He is the one way, the only truth, and the only revealed Word of God.
As His children we are already at peace with God because He forgave us our sins by grace through faith.
Because we are His children, by faith, we have been permanently positioned in-Christ, which has given us peace with God, the forgiveness of sins, and life everlasting.
When we choose to walk in fleshly disobedience and carnal disbelief, when we take hold the privileges of the New Covenant in contempt, or when we fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, the consequences of sin will result in irrevocable loss, 'saved - yet as though by fire'.
He sacrificed His life willingly to pay the price for the sin of the world and Jesus became the first Person to rise from the grave.
Only Jesus the perfect Son of Man had blood in His veins that would one day be shed to pay the price for the sin of the world.
Only One Person of the Trinity was born into the human race as a Man, so that He could live a perfect life and die a sacrificial death, and in so doing pay the price for the sin of the world.
When liberal thinkers and Christian cults refuse to acknowledge the deity of the Lord Jesus... Who as the second Person of the Trinity is fully GOD, yet fully MAN, they destroy the one truth that can save their soul - a truth that cannot be compromised, for only a holy GOD is pure enough to pay the price for sin and break its deathly power.
But God is Spirit... and only a perfect MAN of flesh and blood is both able and worthy to become our Kinsman-Redeemer and pay the incredible price for the sin of the world by shedding His sinless blood for us - the Man Christ Jesus.
This only happens through faith in the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ, for the forgiveness of sin.
Christ's DEATH on the Cross, secured forgiveness of sin for our SOUL but without Christ's RESURRECTION from the dead our mortal body could not be resurrected from the grave.
Without Christ's resurrection we would be forgiven of our sin... for which we praise His holy name... but we would remain separated from our body forever... for perishable must put on the imperishable and mortal must be clothed with immortality through faith in Him.
The heavenly fruit in Galatians 5 is only produced in a person who is continuously being cleansed from all sin and walking in fellowship with the Father.
It is only as we grow in grace, become mature in the faith, and keep a short rein of sin in our lives, that we will produce the spiritual fruit that exemplifies the spirit-filled believer.
Indeed, it is recorded that there were over 60 million slaves in Paul's day, and much attention was given, in Scripture, to the instruction and conduct of slaves, as well as their slave-masters.People often offered themselves as slaves when they fell on hard times, and Paul gave important instructions on how to carry out their duties as unto the Lord, even when their masters were unfair.Although he gave instructions on godly living as a slave, Paul also encouraged those in slavery to secure their freedom whenever possible: If you are able also to become free, rather do that, was His wise advice.Of particular importance, it is to be noted that nowhere in Scripture are members of Christ's Body instructed to engage in the abolishment of slavery or the correction of any other social injustices, in preference to our given ministry to the lost.Jesus said, The poor you will have with you always, and Paul could easily have said, slaves will continue to be with you (however distasteful this is) until Christ's return when He comes to set up His earthly kingdom of peace, prosperity, righteousness, and justice.Although we must certainly stand against the evils of our day, protect those that are weak, help those that are afflicted by social injustices, and show patience towards all men, the preeminent function of the Christian Church is to honour the Lord and tell sinners about Jesus – that He died to pay the price for our sin and rose again so that all who believe on Him will not perish, but have eternal life.We are told to go into all the world and preach the word of truth to a lost and dying humanity.
We are to act as ministers of reconciliation to a world that is drowning in sin.
Sadly, due to disobedience and sin, the God-ordained authority that man had been given over the earth was transferred to Satan, who is the 'god of this age'... for a season... but the Lord in His omniscience knew that man would sin and in His goodness and grace formulated His amazing redemption plan that would span 7000 years of human history.
Because of sin, there is an immovable barrier between God and man - and priests from the house of Aaron were ordained by God to mediate between the two.
Their role was to remove the sin-barrier between man and God.
The role of the priest was to deal with: 1) sin 2) the sinner who was estranged from God due to their sin 3) an offended God Who demanded satisfaction for the sin that man had committed - and the wages of sin is death.
It was the role of the priest to be the propitiation between God and man so that God's wrath against sin could be appeased and satisfied, in order that the sin barrier between God and man could be removed.
It could not be the propitiation for man's sins.
The Aaronic priesthood could not deal with the sin, the sinner, nor God's wrath against sin, for they too were guilty sinners who were also in need of redemption.
Like the Mosaic Law, the Levitical priesthood was a tool to point us to Christ, Who is the only One Who can deal with 1) sin 2) the sinner estranged from God due to sin 3) an offended God Who demands satisfaction for the sin - for it is only by means of His death on the Cross that sinners can be reconciled back to God.
Only He could pay redemption price for our sins.
Only the sinless Son of God could be the propitiation for our sins and become the one and only Mediator between man and God, and between God and man.
Paul reminded the Corinthians of his former teachings on salvation, lest they forget: For I passed on to you as most important what I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that He was buried, that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He appeared to Cephas, and then to the Twelve.
May we be faithful in our calling and tell forth the good news that Christ died for our sin according to the Scriptures, was buried, and rose again according to the Scriptures.
The destruction of sin and Satan, death and hell was to happen at the Cross - but first Jesus must reveal Himself as the authoritative Word of truth, the incarnate God, the Holy One of Israel Who came to save sinners from their sin.
However, His time had not yet come - for Jesus had an appointment with the Cross of Calvary where He would lay down His life for the sin of the whole world.
It was David that was caused to pen these prophetic words which were uttered by our Saviour on the Cross, when He bore the sin of the world in His body on the Tree.
For the three of the blackest hours in human history, the eternal Son of God was separated from His Father in heaven as He was made sin on our account: My God my God why hast Thou forsaken me? was the question He screamed - and these poignant words must have reverberated throughout an astonished universe.
God is just, and He is holy, and sin must be punished.
Every sin and all sin had to be punished.
And the sinless Lord Jesus, Who is God in the flesh, took upon Himself every sin we committed and every violation of God's perfect Law, together with the inherent sin we received from our forefathers and the inherited sin nature we received as part of Adam's fallen race.
Christ voluntarily took upon Himself the responsibility of paying the price for all our sin (committed sins, inherent sin and the inherited sin nature), and God laid on HIM the iniquity of the world.
The debt we owe our Saviour should be a never-ending stream of grateful love that floods through our heart and soul, knowing that He was made sin on our account so that we could be made the righteousness of God in Him.
His shed blood paid the price for our sins (saving us from the penalty of sin), and His resurrected life which is imparted to us by His Spirit, made us a new creation in Christ (so that we are saved from the power of sin in our lives).
Paul, the servant of Christ Jesus, who was called and set apart to proclaim the gospel of God to Jew and Gentile alike, was not ashamed to take the good news of the lowly carpenter Who died for the sin of the world and rose again the third day, to the sophisticated capital of the Roman empire.
We are not to fear, for though we were dead in our sins and eternally separated from the Lord, He has redeemed us with the precious blood of Jesus Christ.
We see Him tempted and tried just as we are... yet without sin.
The righteous man has recognised that he is a sinner in need of salvation and believes that God sent His dearly beloved Son to die on the Cross for the forgiveness of sin and life everlasting.
Earlier in Israel's history, Isaiah spoke of the suffering Servant Who would be wounded for our transgressions, bruised for our iniquities, and He shed his blood as the ransom price for the sin of the world.
He was the voice who would go before the Lord to prepare His ways. He was the prophet who pointed to Jesus as the Lamb of God Who takes away the sin of the world. He was the one who witnessed the heavens open and the Holy Spirit descend, like a dove, on Christ - as the Father declared, This is My Beloved Son, in Whom I am well pleased.
Today, the enemy is like a roaring lion who is prowling around, accusing the saints, and seeking to destroy the faith of all those who have trusted Christ for the forgiveness of sins.
The earth that was groaning under the weight of sin will be glad on that day.
The Jewish Sanhedrin became desperate to halt the spread of the gospel of grace - that Christ died for our sins, was buried, and rose again, according to their Jewish Scriptures - to save His people from their sins, by faith in Him.
And to placate the people and to fulfil the determinate will and counsel of God, Who loved the world so much that He gave His only begotten Son to die for the sin of the whole world, we see Jesus... crucified on a Roman cross between two thieves.
Yes, the blood of Christ was indeed 'on them and on their children', and His blood is on us and on our children as well, for without the shedding of His blood there can be no remission of sins.
Hated and despised, rejected and falsely accused, the Son of God Who had come to save man from their sins, was handed over to the Roman guard to be crucified on a wooden cross.
He could have called down ten legions of angels to His aid, but He endured the cross of shame and wore the crown of thorns so that we might be forgiven of our sins and receive on our heads a crown of righteousness.
But some ignore it or delay it, others misunderstand it, and still more do not consider that they need to be saved from their sin.
They would prefer Romans 6:23 to read: While the wages of sin is death, the wages of good deeds is eternal life in heaven.
God determined that there would only be one way to be forgiven of sin; one way to be redeemed; one way to be declared righteous; one way to gain eternal life.
From God's perspective, no one is good and so not one person could merit forgiveness of sin through their good own works.
Not one man has ever lived who is deserving of forgiveness of sin and the salvation of their soul, for humanity is a fallen race.
No one but GOD Himself is good enough to pay the price for sin.
We are a sinful people that have an inherent sin nature: For ALL have sinned and ALL fall short of the glory of God, and that being the case: The wages of sin is death.
How important to read to the end of the sentence: BUT the GIFT of God is eternal life THROUGH JESUS CHRIST OUR LORD. God loved His creation so dearly that in His grace, He gave His only begotten Son to be born into the human race so that He could become man's Saviour, through paying the price for humanities sin through the shedding of His lifeblood - through the sacrifice of His perfect, sinless life.
The forgiveness of sin (salvation of the soul and eternal life, which is part of the package of forgiveness) is a gift - a free gift - a free gift from God - an unconditional gift from God which demonstrates His amazing grace and unconditional love, and it is available to every-man, every sinner.
Forgiveness of sins and eternal life is God's free gift which comes to all who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ: Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved, Paul told the Philippian jailer, while John tells us in his gospel: For God so love the world that He GAVE His only begotten Son so that all that BELIEVE ON HIM should not perish but have eternal life.
The payment for sin is death, but Jesus received the payment on behalf of every man when He died on Calvary's cruel Cross: For the wages of sin is death; BUT the free gift of God is eternal life, THROUGH BELIEVING ON JESUS CHRIST OUR LORD.
God has a unique and unfathomable love for all mankind which was demonstrated toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, dead in our sin and at enmity with God, Christ died for us.
Jesus paid the price for our sin so that His unconditional love and unswerving justice could be demonstrated through Him.
At His first coming, it was a Roman sword that pierced His side, from which poured redemption's blood-red stream over the sinful race of fallen man - as a dying, sin-cursed earth, groaned beneath the weight of sin, waiting in hope for this special day of redemption.
May we read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest all we can from this little epistle to Titus so that we may also be equally equipped to share the knowledge of the truth, which is according to godliness, with those that are lost in their sins... and give Christian encouragement to our fellow-bondservants in Christ.
Some incorrectly consider that we can reach sinless perfection in this life, but this is unbiblical for our old sin nature, which resides within this mortal body, lusts against our new life in Christ.
We who were once dead in our sins and eternally separated from God, were drawn near to Him and placed in His family because we trusted in His Son as our Saviour.
Not only are we forgiven of our sins and redeemed by His blood, but we have been given the glory that Christ Himself was given by the Father.
The glories of His deity, His divine nature, His omniscient character, and His almighty attributes, remain Christ's alone, but the glories of His perfect humanity have been given to all who trust in His name, for He died and rose again so that we too could die to sin and rise into the newness of His glorious life.
He was to turn them from the dominion of Satan to God and tell them that through faith in the Lord Jesus they would receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who have been sanctified by faith in Christ.
Truth is darkened by sin and our fallen nature has infected our soul, rendering all men dead in sin and at enmity with God.
It remits sin, returns us into fellowship with our heavenly Father, and restores our lost inheritance.
From the moment we are born from above we receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance with all who have been positionally sanctified... and from that time on, we begin a lifelong process of progressive sanctification... as we are changed from glory to glory into the image and likeness of the Lord Jesus.
It is only by His grace we have received forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who have been sanctified by faith in Him.
When Paul appeared before Agrippa, Bernice, and Festus, he was not disobedient to the heavenly vision, but proclaimed the gospel... so that they too might have the opportunity to open their eyes and be turned from darkness to light and from the dominion of Satan to God... so that by faith in Christ they too may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who have been sanctified by faith in Christ.
May we live as sons of Light and let our light so shine before men in this dark world of sin, that the eyes of the blind may be opened to the truth of the gospel of grace.
The Lord, the Holy One of Israel, Who rescued His people from enslavement in Egypt, is the same Almighty God Who graciously redeemed us from the slave-market of sin, when we first believed.
The One Who convicts of sin is the same Holy Spirit Who saves and sanctifies our souls, guiding us along the path of duty, pointing out the road of righteousness, instructing us on the highway of holiness and bearing us up on eagle's wings through times of exhaustion.
Yes, this verse was speaking about Jesus, God’s chosen Prophet Who would save His people from their sins – and He was God’s Sacrificial Lamb Who was slain from the foundation of the world.
He had to do this in a fallen world with a race of men whose nature was corrupted by sin, who were at enmity with God, and had the kiss of death on their soul.
For the life of Christ to be shown in our lives when beset by difficulties, the old sin nature must remain inoperative as we submit to the inner workings of the Holy Spirit and trust God to deal righteously in our lives, no matter who or what we are facing.
Before we were born again, we had a spirit that was dead in trespasses and sins, but when we accepted Christ as our Saviour we were given a new life in Christ, a new, free, human spirit, which is able to commune with His Holy Spirit Who is enabled to guide us into all truth.
One principle we must understand and accept is detailed in verse 16 of Roman chapter 6: Do you not know that when you present yourselves to someone as slaves for obedience, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin resulting in death, or of obedience resulting in righteousness?
We can choose to be a slave of sin OR we can make the choice to be a slave of obedience - there are no other options - there is no middle ground.
We cannot straddle the fence between sin and righteousness, nor can we construct an alternative course of action that is outside of God's established laws.
We are either the slave of Satan and sin OR we are the servant of Christ and righteousness.
Before being born from above and baptised into Christ by the Holy Spirit, we were automatically dead in their trespasses, slaves to sin, and in servitude to Satan.
We were born with a sin nature. We were conceived in sin; we came into the world enslaved by sin; we were estranged from God and we were without hope in the world.
We have moved from the kingdom of darkness and automatic enslavement to sin, into the glorious kingdom of light.
We have exchanged our slavery to sin to becoming servants of righteousness.
Our union with Christ and our position in Him has freed us from the enslaving power that sin had over us, before we were saved.
The unsaved man is excluded from the kingdom of God's Son and can only yield to sin and death, but the believer has a choice.
He can choose to become entangled again in the law of sin and death, through carnality, legalism, rebellion, and sin, OR he can submit himself to the leading of the Spirit and become a servant of obedience, which leads to righteousness.
How wonderful to realise that we have been taken out of the old creation and placed into the new; we have been removed from being in Adam to being in Christ; we have exchanged servitude to Satan, sin, and death to yielding to the Spirit as a servant of righteousness and life, which produces a liberty of mind and freedom of soul that stands in stark contrast to sin's state of slavery.
Let us glorify God with our bodies and submit our lives to the leading of the Spirit, for we have been delivered from the dominion of evil as willing slaves to sin have been reunited with our precious Saviour, by grace through faith.
We passed from darkness to light, when we were rescued from the slave-market of sin.
Like Israel, we have been supernaturally delivered from sin, Satan, death, and hell.
We eat of Christ, our Bread of Life and drink from the Living Water of life, for unless we eat of His Body and drink His Blood, through faith in Him, we will remain dead in our sins.
May we take to heart the wise warning of James - the bond-servant of Christ Jesus and put into practice the wisdom from the book of Proverbs which reminds us: In the multitude of words sin is not lacking, but he who restrains his lips is wise; the tongue of the righteous is choice silver but the heart of the wicked is worth little and the lips of the righteous feed many, but fools die for lack of wisdom.
Instead of the Church proclaiming the gospel of the grace of God to a lost world, 144 thousand Jewish evangelists will start to proclaim the gospel of the kingdom – and then Christ will return as their anointed King.Although this is a time of Great Tribulation, it is not God's will that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance through faith in Christ for the forgiveness of sin.
And it is during this 'Time of Jacobs Trouble' (the 70th week of Daniel) that we discover a great multitude without number who will be saved by God’s grace, through faith in the Lamb of God Who takes away the sin of the world.We read in Revelation 7, that after the sealing of the 144 thousand Jews who come from every tribe of Israel, a great multitude which no one could number, will come to faith in Christ.
They have washed their robes and made them white, in the blood of the Lamb.This great multitude are those that have been forgiven of their sin, by faith in Christ.
They will be privileged to reign on earth with Christ for 1000 years – after He has returned, in power and great glory, to sit on the throne of David and begin His earthly rule from Jerusalem.The great crowd that John saw in his vision were Jews and Gentiles who had rejected God's offer of salvation during the Church age, but who trusted Him for the forgiveness of sin during this terrible time of Tribulation.
They were clothed in white robes and held palm branches in their hands.Having rejected salvation during the Church dispensation, they are not members of Christ's Body but, like the Church, will participate in the Millennial Kingdom – and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.Unlike the Church who are destined to be kings and priest of God who will rule and reign with Christ on His throne, this multitude of saints will serve the Lord as priests in the Temple of the Lord, day and night.Today, we in the Church teach the gospel of the grace of God, but in the Tribulation, Israel will declare the gospel of the coming kingdom of Christ... and in the Millennial Kingdom, Old Testament saints, Church-age saints, and Tribulation saints will unite their voices in praise and thanksgiving for Christ – the Lamb of God and King of Israel Who takes away the sin of the world.
Israel were God's chosen people, but the nation had become increasingly petulant and disobedient, and a holy God is bound to punish sin and to discipline His people for their transgressions.
Being reconciled to God does not depend on what we do but rests entirely on what Christ has already done, and by simply trusting that His finished work on the Cross has paid the full price for our sin, we are reconciled back to God; we have peace with Him and are regarded as blameless in His sight.
This precious promise is no less true for God's people today who have been rescued from slavery to sin and subjection to Satan, than it was for His people who were in servitude to Pharaoh and slaves in the land of Egypt, and it all comes down to a matter of faith in God's promises - of trusting His Word - of believing the truth of His Scripture.
He will never leave us and He will not forsake us, even when our faith wears thin or when we fall into sin or turn away from His loving truth.
We have not only received forgiveness of sin and life everlasting through faith in Him, but have been called to be partakers of God's heavenly kingdom and received a share in His own glory - as heirs of God and joint-heir with Christ!
We who were once living in the kingdom of darkness, enslaved to sin, and steeped in shame, have been forever transported into His kingdom of light and received life, grace, glory, forgiveness, and hope.
The love of God is not only demonstrated through Christ's supreme sacrifice of Himself on the cross, but is also revealed in the Father, Who sent the Son of His love to be the Lamb of God Who takes away the sin of the world.
The greatest manifestation of God's love towards a cursed world and a condemned race was shown at the appointed time, when God the Father sent His only begotten Son into the world to be the substitute for our sin.
His death paid the price for our sin, so that all who believe on Him would never perish but live eternally, through Him.
It was to declare a fallen sinner righteous in the sight of a holy God, that the Word became flesh and was born into His fallen creation - so that He could become sin for us.
It is because of the great love of God that we were redeemed from the slave-market of sin, declared righteous in His eyes, rescued from the terrible judgement of God, we so justly deserve, and were made His children and joint-heirs with Christ.
Those who bring their sons and daughters up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord, will discover themselves to be praised by their children.The parent-child relationship is vital for the whole of humanity if the generations that follow are to survive in a world that is saturated in sin and lies in the power of the evil one.
They will want to have their ears tickled, with a watered-down and compromised gospel, he continues, and they will accumulate for themselves teachers, who say the things they want to hear, by preaching a feel-good credo instead of teaching the plain truth of the gospel of grace, about sin and salvation and about Jesus Christ as the one and only way to be justified by God.
He explains that suffering is our mission in life, because Christ Who committed no sin and lived a perfect life, suffered on the Cross for our sake.
He laid aside His glory to suffer and die so that we might believe and be saved, and it is Christ's character and conduct that we are to emulate, for He committed no sin nor was any deceit found in His mouth.
As believers, we have been forgiven of our sins and have received a new life in Christ.
Christ's death on the Cross not only paid the price for our sins but also broke the power of sin in our lives.
Our position in Christ is not a license to sin, but a motivation to live godly in Christ Jesus, for in Him, and by Him, and through Him, we have all that is needful for life and godliness.
Let us seek to emulate our Lord Jesus in all things, by keeping our old sin nature nailed to the Cross and appropriating all that we have in our new life in Christ, for we have been called for this purpose: to suffer for Christ's sake Who left us an example that we should follow in His steps.
Although this verse was given to Israel by Malachi and will be realised for them at Christ's Second Advent... for ALL who have believed on Him in their hearts by faith, this is a truth that has already been fulfilled in each of us at our salvation - for HE IS God our righteousness and He is God, our Healer, and He is God our Saviour Who has set us free from the slave-market of sin, so that we can also go forth and skip about like calves from the stall.
Like all those who are born in trespasses and sin, our imputed sin nature with its fleshly lusts and our prideful attitudes battle against the born-again spirit of Christ within.
Since sin entered the world, the whole creation had been placed under the curse of God, and mankind was enslaved by the evil power of the prince of darkness.Because of Adam's sin in the garden, the whole of humanity was condemned by God and has been trapped in a deep state of darkness and ensnared under the terrible shadow of death ever since.
The word 'flesh' has many meanings and can refer to different things depending on the context... but in this verse the word 'flesh' is referring to the old sin nature - the fallen, fleshly, egocentric nature we inherited from Adam.
When Adam sinned, man died spiritually, leaving every member of humanity dead in trespasses and sin.
Man's body also started to die immediately and man's soul was corrupted and tainted with sin... such that man knew what was good yet was unable to do it... and man knew what was evil but was unable to avoid it.
Good deeds that are carried out by the old sin nature, however commendable they appear to be, are utterly rejected by God.
Once we have been saved by grace through faith in Christ, any good works that we undertake are to be done through the new, Christ-given nature which we receive at salvation, and not the old, sin nature which was imputed to us due to our membership of the first creation in Adam.
When we were born into that old sin-ridden creation, we received an old sinful nature.
Any good actions or kindly deeds that are carried out in our original, fleshly sin nature which we received from the first Adam, will never, ever be acknowledged or accepted by the Lord.
As believers, we still retain our freewill, but in Christ we have received power over that old, fallen, sin nature as we die to self and live for Christ alone.
If we permit the old sin nature to mount the throne of our life, we dishonour the Lord and will reap the bitter fruit of sinfulness, but if we keep the old man nailed to the Cross and live for Christ alone, we will reap the everlasting fruit of righteousness: For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life.
When Adam sinned, it was an innocent animal that God slew to cover their nakedness, but the blood of bulls and sheep can only cover sin.
It can never take away the sin that stains man's soul and separates fallen humanity from a holy God.
From the beginning, God decreed that only the shed blood of a sinless human being who would willingly give up his own sinless life as the ransom price for humanities transgressions, would be sufficient to appease an angry God and to satisfy His great hatred of evil and judgement against sin - for the wages of sin is death and Christ's death on the Cross paid that tremendous price.
There was no-one who was good enough to pay that tremendous price, for sin for God alone is sinless.
Though sinless, Christ took our sin upon Himself and was punished in our place so that - though sinners - we are clothed in His righteousness by faith, and freed from the consequences of sin and the curse of the Law which condemns all humanity to eternal separation from God.
The blood of innocent animals could only cover humanities sin until the perfect Lamb of God in the Person of the Lord Jesus came to earth to become that singular sacrifice Who alone was sufficient to cleanse us from all sin and clothe us in the righteousness of God - and we access His forgiveness of our sins by faith in Him.
But rather than being hailed as the sinless Son of God Who became Immanuel, God-in-the-flesh, to die on the Cross to save us from our sins, the Lord Jesus was oppressed and afflicted by those He came to save.
Like a little innocent Lamb, He did not open His mouth to protest or complain, for He was dying in our place and we deserved the punishment of death for our sin.
He could not proclaim His own personal, justified innocence, for to do so would render your sin and mine as remaining unpaid and unforgiven, through time and into eternity.
Legalism and license can become a 'ping-pong' type argument that often rages in Christian quarters, between 1) the dangers of legalism - which replaces the freedom we have in Christ with a string of man-made rules, and the reintroduction of Jewish practices which were set aside at the Cross – and 2) the perils of license - the abuse of the freedoms we have in Christ as an excuse to sin.
We are never to use our freedom in Christ as an excuse to sin.
Here, in Peter's first epistle, we find another important teaching on love, which is condensed into one tiny verse by the big, Galilean 'fisher-of-men.' Above all things, Peter writes, have fervent love among yourselves: for love shall cover a multitude of sins.
Peter also knew the amazing grace and perfect peace that comes when sins are covered.
He knew the liberating joy that floods the soul when sins are covered by Christ, the lover of our soul.
He had first-hand experience of receiving Christ's divine love, through the covering of his own sins.
Is He not worthy to receive the same depth of love that He showed towards us when we were dead in sin and at enmity with God, a sacrificial love, a dedicated love, a complete, unselfish, and holy love?
Such love does not wink at sin, nor does it translate imperfections into destructive criticism, but is gracious toward the faults of others and patient with their defects.
No surprise that Peter exhorts us, above all, keep fervent in your love for one another, for love covers a multitude of sins.
When the love of God through Christ, abounds in our hearts, then the offenses of others, together with our own sins, are covered in Christlike forgiveness.
Surely we should cover the sins of those who sin against us and be grateful that our own, innumerable sins are also covered in Christ's forgiveness?
There is nothing that can separate us from His love, for past, present, and future sins have been washed in the sea of His amazing forgiveness, and His vast ocean of forgetfulness, and we are cleansed by the Blood of the Lamb.
Should not we who have had the sordid sins of our blackened souls washed, covered, cleansed, and eternally forgiven by our gracious God, reflect His tender-hearted forgiveness, His warm gentleness, His deep compassion and fervent love in our dealings on our brothers and sisters in Christ?
Should not we above all things have fervent love one for another, knowing that the love of Christ covers a multitude of sins?
Both Peter and Paul were apostles of Christ who had been called and chosen by the Lord, but like every one of us, they were also able to slip back into carnality and sin – and like each of us, there were times when they also had to be corrected by another brother in Christ and re-examine their faith to see if they were adhering to the truth of the gospel or being led astray, into legalism.After Paul had been so gloriously saved on the road to Damascus, Peter and the other apostles continued to share the gospel of God around Jerusalem and the local Judean area – predominantly to Jews.
He was born into His own creation as a perfect Man so that He could be made sin in our place and be punished for our iniquity.
We need to believe that the wrath of God was poured out in full measure upon Christ Himself on our behalf so that we might be forgiven of our sins, clothed in His perfect righteousness, and receive eternal life as a free gift of God's grace, by faith.
And the LORD Jesus Christ was born to die as the sacrifice for humanity's sin so that all who believe on Him might be reborn from above and live with Him forever.
Our very life has been redeemed from the pit of the dead, for not only are we forgiven of our sins and the beneficiaries of eternal life, by grace through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, but part of that free gift of grace was to redeem us from that pit of destruction that was prepared for the devil and his angels, and eternal separation from our heavenly King.
Before salvation, we were children of the night and a product of the darkness of sin.
The unsaved soul is trapped in the dungeon of sin, but by faith we can cast off the works of darkness and be clothed in His armour of light.
It was prideful rebellion against the Lord that enslaved us to sin and entrapped us in the darkness of this world system, but we have been bought with a price - the precious blood of Jesus Christ - and so our joyful calling is to glorify God in our body and in spirit, for we belong to Him.
He not only made us, but has bought us back from the slave-market of sin.
When a redeemed person has fallen from grace into legalism or carnality and is challenged about their sinfulness and unrighteous behaviour, when a believer is brought to deep sorrow for their wrongdoings and grieved about their sinful behaviour, when a Christian is broken before the Lord because of their sin, or when a justified man feels the chastening rod of God on their back and turns from their wicked way, they are brought to godly repentance with NO regrets.
When a Christian is brought to the place of godly repentance, they will not have the type of regret the unsaved experience, for if we confess our sin, God is faithful and just to forgive us our sin, cleanse us, return us into fellowship with Himself, and set us back on the sanctification pathway.
God's way challenges sin, brings about repentance without regret, cleanses, forgives, and returns us into His life-giving sanctification highway, while the unsaved are buried in guilt, shame, regret, and remorse - with no forgiveness and a road that leads them to the dungeons of death.
It gives voice to pain that Jerusalem endured, due to Israel's sin.
Her suffering resulted from the sin of her unrepentant people.
Although the book of Lamentations may not contain any Messianic prophecies or future predictions, there are many lessons to learn about the devastating effect of sin and the justified judgement God on sin.
And although the suffering city of Jerusalem is not identified as a 'type' of Christ, there is a clear parallel with the untold pain and suffering He underwent when He gave His sinless life as the ransom price for the sin of the whole world.
May we be those that are prepared to correct a Christian brother or sister in LOVE, when we see someone going astray or destroying their testimony through carnality and sin.
when the Father sent the Spirit to permanently indwell all who would trust in Jesus for the forgiveness of sins - the salvation of their soul and life everlasting.
Jesus Christ made the Law of no effect by giving His sinless life to pay the full price of all sin, which was the only payment that a holy God could accept.
Only the shed blood of Jesus Christ (the perfect Son of God and sinless Son of Man), could satisfy the righteous demands of God Who had decreed that the wages of sin is death.
And Christ's shed blood paid the full and final price for all sin so that whosoever believes on Him would not perish but have everlasting life, and be redeemed from the curse of the Law.
Jesus paid the price of sin for all people, but Jesus made the Law of no effect for all who would believe on His name.
Although the sins of the unsaved have been paid for by the blood of Christ, they remain under the condemnation of the Law because they have not believed on the only begotten Son of God.
The wall of partition that had been erected between God's chosen people Israel and the pagan Gentile nations, who were dead in their sins and without God in the world, was removed so that Christ might create in Himself one new man from these two groups of people.
Every good and perfect gift comes from God above, but there is no more precious and lasting gift than that of the forgiveness of our sins.
God's forgiveness of sinners is exclusively and singularly tied to the Cross of Calvary and the blood of Christ that was shed for many for the remission of sin and the redemption of mankind.
Only the death and Resurrection of Jesus is sufficient to pay the full and costly price for the sin of the whole world.
Christ did indeed die to pay the price for humanity's sin, but only those that trust in the Lord Jesus Christ as Saviour, experience His full and free forgiveness - forever.
He is not only our Saviour Who forgives all our sins, but He is also our Healer Who healeth all our diseases, for there is no sickness or illness that can withstand the power and glory of our Creator God and heavenly King - if He so choose.
In bygone days, the first line of a Psalm was often the title of that whole song, and the opening words of this poignantly prophetic Psalm is no exception, for these were the very words that the Lord Jesus Christ cried out from the Cross when He was made sin for your sins and for mine: My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken me?
Matthew's exposition of that unique day was that at three in the afternoon, Jesus cried out in a loud voice the very Psalm that was penned by David: My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken me? and very likely the Lord Jesus recited every wonderful word and every agonizing verse of that astonishing Psalm, which details the shocking truth of what Christ had to bear on the Cross, to pay the required price for the sin of the world.
He had already promised one dying thief that he would be with Him in paradise when he acknowledged Jesus as Lord, and He had also made gracious provision for His grieving mother who would be adopted into the family of His servant, John, before His Father turned away from the Son of His love, as the sin of the world was laid on His shoulders.
Both God the Father and God the Spirit turned their back on God the Son, as he bore the sin of the world upon His sinless shoulders, and the unity that the Three had enjoyed for an eternity was shattered for the first time, as the Father and the Spirit together poured out the fullness of their wrath upon the Son.
He was the eternal Son of God Who had become the perfect Son of Man Who had lived a perfect life and died a sacrificial death for the sin of mankind, for which He alone was qualified.
God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son - the Son of His love, to be man's sin offering.
How appropriate, therefore, that despite the indescribable grief of our suffering Saviour Who willingly became sin so that all that trust in His name might be saved, the very next words of this beautiful Psalm that demands our eternal praise and worship proclaims, But You are holy - O You that inhabit the praises of Israel.
He never has, for He willingly suffered all the wrath of God and punishment for sin that you and I deserve, when the Father placed your sin and mine upon the Lord Jesus.
At His First Coming, He came to bring the hope of salvation to His people... and proclaim liberty to those enslaved by sin.
The people of Israel should have rejoiced in the Lord Who came to save His people from their sin and clothe them in the robe of righteousness... but they rejected Him and had Him crucified as a criminal.
And in that day, Israel will greatly rejoice in the Lord – proclaiming, He has cleansed us of our sin, covered us in a robe of righteousness for His name's sake, and turned our desert into a garden - where every man will sit under His fig tree and the earth will be filled with the glory of God as the waters cover the sea.
The Law was designed to identify their sin and their need for a Saviour.
Circumcision of the flesh illustrated a spiritual cutting away of sin from the life of a believer - a spiritual circumcision which spoke of a life dedicated to God.
Although this scarlet thread in the book of Joshua is not identified as a true, Old Testament 'type', with its New Testament 'antitype', it has often been used in Christian circles to represent the cleansing life-giving blood of Christ, which atones for a man's sin - and through Whom a justified sinner is declared to be righteous in God's sight - by faith.
Jesus was born to save His people from their sins and Joseph, the carpenter from Nazareth, was given the divine office and responsibility of becoming the earthly, adoptive father to God's only begotten, heavenly Son.
He would be a little boy, Whose name was to be Jesus, and He was to save His people Israel, from their sins.
And you, Joseph, YOU shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins. For centuries Jewish people had been looking for their promised Messiah.
He came to bring salvation from sin as promised in Old Testament Scriptures.
He came to save us from the PENALTY of sin (at salvation) the POWER of sin (through the process of sanctification), and the PRESENCE of sin (when we are with Him in glory).
It was through the Child, that Joseph would care for, that our Salvation was accomplished, through the death of Jesus, Who redeemed us from our sins and transferred us from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of His glorious light.
And 2000 years ago, a young man called Joseph the carpenter, was entrusted with the earthly parentage of Jesus, sent by God to save His people from their sins.
God in His goodness and grace gave His only begotten Son to be born into the human race, so that by living a sinless life He could die as the substitute for the sin of the whole world..
He came 2000 years ago as our Kinsman-Redeemer to save us from our sins, and despite being rejected and condemned by His own people and crucified by the Gentiles, He is soon returning to complete all that has been foretold of Him, by His holy apostles and prophets.
As sinners saved by grace, we understand that the lavish liberality of the grace of God has been poured out on all those that trust in His name, for though we were dead in our trespasses and sins with no hope in the world, God sent His Son to die for us on the Cross and gave us a gift at enormous cost to Himself - a free gift of grace to all who believe, a gift which has eternal consequences.
Victorious living is also connected with having clean hands and a pure heart, which is the product of a 'Christocentric' life and is cultivated when we put on the whole armour of God and remain in fellowship with our heavenly Father, through regular confession of sin and by walking in the light of His love.
Drawing near to God and maintaining fellowship with Him involves shunning all that is evil, abhorring the things that dishonour God, and hating the calamitous effect of wrongdoing - mourning over sin.
We are not to rationalise sin but lament over its destructive nature in our own lives and the lives of others.
Jesus Himself told us that those who mourned and wept over their sin and the evil it causes, would be blessed.
Lamenting over sin must not be confused with wallowing in the wretchedness of our sin in order to 'justify' ourselves in the eyes of God.
Admitting to sin and grieving over our sin and the devastation it brings is the responsibility of all sinners.
Weeping over sin is an important step in bringing a lost sinner into fellowship with Christ and the forgiveness of sin - through faith in Him.
May we draw near to the Lord and enjoy sweet fellowship with our heavenly Father, by confessing our sin and walking in spirit and truth.
May we cleanse our hands, purify our hearts, and mourn over sin and the devastation it causes in our life... and may we praise and thank our glorious Saviour, Jesus Christ, Who died on the Cross to pay the enormous price for our sin, so that by faith in Him we might be eternally forgiven and receive the promise of life everlasting.
Only a perfect Man could pay the price for the sin of fallen humanity.
Only God was good enough to redeem us from the slave-market of sin.
Without a perfect sacrifice for sin and the shedding of human blood, mankind could never be forgiven.
Without the forgiveness of sin, fallen man could never be reconciled to a holy God, and the first step Christ took towards the forgiveness of our sin, was to come into the world as a tiny babe, in order to die for our sin.
Who would have imagined that this tiny baby was and King, born to die for the sins of the whole world?
The very purpose of the incarnation was salvation for a rebellious race that was dead in trespasses and sin, at enmity with God, and condemned to eternal separation from their Creator.
When we consider the price Christ Jesus paid to come into this world and save us from our sin, when we reflect on the stain that sin has left on our heart and realise the forgiveness we have received by God's grace, through faith, surely we can do nothing other than conclude with Paul that of all sinners, I am the worse sinner of all. He saved us, not because of the righteous things we have done, but because of His great and wonderful mercy.
The Lord Jesus offered up His sinless life to His Heavenly Father as the full, final, and sufficient sacrifice for the sin of the whole world.
He became the full and sufficient payment for the sin of the whole world - and all who believe on Him receive forgiveness of sins because He died in our place.
Christ was a blameless Man, and it is only the soul that sins on which the sentence of death is placed.
The sacrificial death of our sinless Saviour was sufficient to pay the price for the sin of the whole world, but death had no claim on Christ Himself.
But all humanity is tainted by Adam's sin and incapable of living in spirit and truth in our own strength.
And although the old sin nature still resides in our fallen bodies of flesh and blood (until our physical death), we have the power of Christ's sinless life within to enable us to live in newness of life in Christ, and to offer up our own lives as a living sacrifice to the Lord.
At an appointed time, He was clothed in flesh, becoming the perfect Son of Man so that sinful humanity might not perish but be redeemed from sin's eternal destiny and be restored into a right relation with their Creator.
As children of God, we are meant to shine the light gospel of grace into a world that is steeped in the darkness of sin and condemnation.
We are not expected to hide our light under a bushel nor to turn a deaf ear to their pitiful state of the unsaved – for all are in need of salvation and all need Christ, for the forgiveness of sins and life everlasting.
We are in the world, but we are not of it, and so our attitude and action must show compassion toward those that are dying in their sins, while not being influenced by the prevailing gloom of this dark world-system.
Another lesson in practical living is in verse 26 where Paul contrasts sinful rage or bad temper with genuine, righteous anger: Be angry, and sin not, is Paul's simple guideline, be angry, and yet do not sin.
There is a vast difference between legitimate, godly anger over sin and evil where a believer controls his anger rather than being controlled by it, and the explosive anger of indignant rage or smouldering anger due to some personal altercation, a bitter heart, or the desire to 'get even'.
Righteous anger grieves over sin and evil, while fleshly anger allows the devil to take a foothold in our life and causes us to sink deeper in the sinful lusts of the flesh.
Anger is not always a sin and not all anger is wrong, and there are times when Christians should express righteous anger in a way that honours the Lord.
But when any sort of anger is not addressed biblically, the enemy can turn righteous anger into a sin or escalate fleshly anger into a greater offence, which is why Paul continues with the directive, do not let the sun go down on your anger, address ALL anger issues, quickly.
May we learn to recognise the difference between true righteous anger and ungodly fleshly anger that causes us to sin.
He will never teach and train the OLD sin nature that we received as a member of the old creation in Adam, for we are now part of a new creation in Christ.
Our 'Old Man' as the Bible calls it, which is part of our old Adamic nature, is riddled with sin.
Our old sin nature is dead in trespasses and sins and is to remain nailed to the Cross of Christ.
We have put on the new self, and it is this new life and not the old sin nature that is being renewed, day by day, by the Spirit.
All that is connected with the old creation in Adam is eternally doomed, which is why God is not going to transform the old sin nature but the new life in Christ, which we received when we were born again.
The heavens and earth, which was created, fashioned, formed and filled by God, was cursed because of man's sin - and the icy fingers of death continue to strangle and suffocate all the good things that God has made.
Christ paid the incredible price for sin, in His body on the tree, so that all who believe on Him might not perish but be united with Him through time and into eternity.
The Bible is a record of God's wonderful plan of man's redemption, and the amazing grace that caused God to send His only begotten Son to die on the Cross to pay the price for our sin will be brought to its final conclusion when God makes a new heaven and a new earth: For the first heaven and the first earth will pass away.
Fear not... When the God of the universe, Who sent His Son to be our Kinsman-Redeemer and pay the price for our sins on the Cross tells us not to worry... should we not simply take Him at His Word and not fear?
The glory that is contained in this astonishing reality should never become so familiar to us that a Christian is not left profoundly humbled and deeply amazed when reflecting upon the reality that Christ died for our sins, was buried, and rose again the third day, so that all who believe on Him would not perish, but have everlasting life.
It was because of His love for us that God gave His only begotten Son to be the propitiation for our sin, and Paul presents us with a question, IF God did not spare his own Son but gave Him up for us all... THEN will He not also with Him graciously give us all things?
His precious blood was shed on the Cross to atone for the sins of many, and we who believe on His name are held fast in the hand of the Father, given eternal life, and kept eternally secure - in Him, forever.
By the merit of His death, Jesus paid our debt for sin - and the wages of sin is death.
But God did not spare His own Son, but gave Him up for love of US... so that His death would pay the full price of our sin, and through His glorious resurrection we would become a new creation in Christ - removed from the old creation in Adam, placed into the new creation in Christ, and receive newness of life - spirit, soul, and body.
If the Father did not spare His own Son but gave Him up for is all... AND if the Lord Jesus was willing to be made sin for us and to atone for our sins through His sacrificial death on the Cross - should we not trust His Word implicitly?
If the eternal Son of God was prepared to be born into His own creation, become our sin-Substitute through His death on the Cross, and break the power of sin and death in our lives, should we not die daily to self and live passionately for Him?
He upholds all things by the word of His power, and when Jesus made purification of sins, through His death on the cross and resurrection from the dead, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, until that day when He returns to bring all things to their final consummation.
And this mingling of the angelic with the human, was Satan's attempt to corrupt the DNA of humanity and eliminate the Seed of the woman Who was prophesied to destroy the works of the evil one.Although the vile influence of these fallen angels certainly aggravated the degenerate, pre-flood conditions, it was the unrelenting wickedness in the human heart and man's obsessive preoccupation with evil which was identified in this verse and demanded the destruction of mankind, through the flood of Noah.The sin nature that so corrupted the human race at the time of the flood, is the same evil disposition that is inherited from our fathers and imputed into the heart of every man who has descended from Adam – for the natural man is a sinner who is born under sin and is at enmity with God.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... and yet God, in His grace, purposed to redeem mankind and to destroy the works of the evil one.Although God's judgement rained down on the antediluvian world, and will do so once again during the Great Tribulation, it was at Calvary where complete victory was gained against mankind's unrelenting enemy.It was at the Cross, when Christ's blood was shed to pay the price for sin, that our Saviour triumphed over the evil enemy of our soul, and Satan's defeat will be fully realised when he is finally thrown into the fiery lake of God's everlasting judgement, after which, God will make a new heaven and a new earth.
They told him that the Lamb of God Who has taken away the sin of the world, is seated on the right hand of the Father.
Jesus was identified as the perfect Man Who overcame sin and death - and He alone was worthy to open the book and its seven seals.
Whichever viewpoint is correct, the wonderful truth is that Christ died for our sins, was buried, and rose again, according to the Scriptures, and He has redeemed us by His precious blood.
The wrath of God must be poured out on ALL sin, and the wages of sin is death.
He was made sin for us.
The wrath of God was poured out in fullest measure on Christ so that your sin and mine could be forgiven by grace through faith in Him.
God's wrath was poured out on Christ in our stead and we are forgiven of all our sin.
Every sin that we commit during our life - past, present, and future, was laid on Christ and the enormous price for sin was paid-for by Him 2000 years ago.
He took our place and paid the penalty for our stead, on that terrible, yet glorious day when Christ became the sin-sacrifice for mankind.
We are forgiven of all our sin because Christ took the punishment in place of us.
God's accumulated anger and wrath against your sin and mine was placed on Christ Jesus on Calvary's Cross.
We are not destined to have God's wrath poured out on us, because we trusted in the death, burial, and Resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ as the payment for our sin.
Every man and woman has a free-will choice to trust in Christ for salvation - because the wrath of God against their sin and ours was paid at Calvary.
The choice is to believe and be forgiven of all sin, which means that we escape the wrath to come, having obtained salvation in Christ.
Yet by grace through faith in Him our sins have been washed as white as snow and we have been forever forgiven of our sin, adopted into God's family, placed into the Body of Christ, and reconciled to the Father.
From the point that sin entered the world, every person that comes into the world is born dead in their trespasses and sins which means eternal separation from God.
Although God created man in His own image and likeness and bestowed upon him everything that relates to life and wholeness, because of Adam's sin our privileges were forfeited and handed over to Satan (who holds every man that comes into the world under the evil power of sin and death and hell).
The nation continues to be estranged from God and admits in this verse, that they are wretched and miserable, poor and blind, in deep despair, and DEAD in their sin.
There may have a semblance of being God's people, but they are dead in their sin and utterly hopeless.
Israel may have been physically 'reborn' in 1948 when the modern state of Israel came into being, but they will remain spiritually dead - dead in trespasses and sins, until that day when the entire nation repents of their sin and calls out for their Messiah to save them.
What was the purpose of setting standards that could never be reached?The Law was given to Israel not as a means to salvation, but to identify their sin and to establish their need for salvation, by faith.
If the Law proves one thing, it demonstrates that keeping God's Law is not God's way of salvation.Keeping God's Law does not result in blessings or justification – it identifies sin.
And Israel, who were given the Law, were to tell the Gentile nations this information so that they may recognise their own sinfulness and be saved, by faith.The Law EXPOSES sin but does not JUSTIFY the sinner.
The Law IDENTIFIES sin but it cannot bring salvation.
As the day of Christ's return draws ever closer, there are still multiplied millions of souls who face a lost eternity... unless they hear and believe the gospel of grace - that Christ died for their sins, according to the Scriptures, that He was buried and rose again, according to the Scriptures - such that whosoever believes in Him would not perish but have everlasting life.
God in the Person of Jesus Christ came to earth and was born into His own creation so that all who believe in His finished work on Calvary's cross, for the forgiveness of sin might be forgiven - and have eternal life.
Salvation means coming to Christ's cross for forgiveness of sin and life everlasting, which is open to all.
Redemption requires us to believe on the Person and Work of the Lord Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of our sins and by grace through faith in Him we are born from above..
Christ was made sin for us and our salvation depended on Christ identifying with our sin.
He is the Word made flesh Who tabernacled among His people for a brief season, to carry out the will of God through His sacrificial death and resurrected life, in order to break the power of sin and death in the lives of all who believe in Him.
He is the One who has broken down the sin-barrier that separated man from God, and He is the One Who has made His Heavenly Father known to the human race.
He is a God like no other god for He was born into His own creation and became a man, yet without sin.
The indescribable greatness of our Heavenly Father finds stark contrast with the insignificant and inconsequential role of sinful man who is dead in his sin, at enmity with God, and without hope in the world.
But man sinned and disqualified himself from his privileged position as God's chosen representative on earth, and the effects of sin continue to reverberate around the universe to this day.
For a time, He made Himself a little lower than the angels so that He could take upon Himself the form of a man and die to pay the price for our sin - and in so doing became our precious, Kinsman-Redeemer.
We read that GOD so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son to be the sacrifice for sin.
Christ was made sin for the accumulated sin of the whole world in loving obedience to the Father, for He cried, Not My will but Thine be done, and through His shed blood, the sin of the world was forgiven.
It was His sacrificial death that paid the price for the sin of the whole world and it was His glorious Resurrection that enabled all those that believe on His name to be sanctified and made holy in Him.
Jesus met with Moses and Elijah on the Mount of Transfiguration, not long before He was to face Calvary's Cross and bear the full weight of man's sin on His shoulders.
He was to be the full and final sacrifice for sin, and only three of Christ's disciples witnessed the awesome presence of God as a cloud enveloped Him, and a voice from heaven was heard to say, This is My beloved Son in Whom I am well pleased.
His Resurrection would be a unique Resurrection, by Whom the power of sin, Satan, death, and hell would be broken in the lives of all who believe.
The pagan deities that the Athenians worshipped, needed human beings to build their temples and bring them things, whereas the great God of the universe needs nothing from men – since He Himself gives life and breath to all people and all things.There is no correct way to introduce the gospel of grace to unbelievers, but there does need to be willingness to tell others about Jesus and bring God's message of salvation to the lost – and many missionaries have found that a good starting point is to give others a correct understanding of the God of creation Who made heaven and earth and everything in it, and of man whom God created in His own image, but who sinned and needs to be redeemed from sin and death and hell.May we, who have been saved by grace through faith, make ourselves available to the leading and guidance of the Holy Spirit so that lost sinners may be given the opportunity to hear the gospel and believe, through our ministry – for how shall they hear if no one is willing to tell them?
Nahum shows that the Lord is gracious and full of compassion and gives plenty of time for those that commit evil, to repent of their sins.
Repenting of one's sins is not displaying some emotional reaction to one's own wrongdoing - but is changing from doing wrong to believing what is right and trusting God.
However, when the wicked refuse to repent of their evil, the wrath of God is eventually poured out upon them and when the time for the punishment of the wicked arrives - none can withstand Him, for the Lord is a jealous and avenging God Who is angry over sin.
The Lord takes vengeance on His adversaries who sin against Him.
For by faith in His death and Resurrection, the power of sin in their lives had been severed, its deathly consequences had been destroyed, and they had all been set free from the curse of the Law.
Ironically, these false teachers did not understand that although the perfect Law of Moses could certainly identify sin, it could never correct it, nor could it forgive sin.
The Law is able to accuse and point the finger of accusation at the sinner but is incapable of dealing with the principle of sin.
The Law is the tool that God used to show fallen man that they are lost sinners in need of salvation, but the Law can never correct sin which only comes by grace through faith in Christ.
But thanks be to God, that the Lord Jesus came to free us from bondage to sin and the curse of the Law.
Christ was made a curse for us. Christ was made sin for us so that the power of sin and the curse of the Law are no longer able to wrap their icy fingers around our throats and accuse us.
When we are born again, we are not under the Law of sin and death... we are under the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus.
It is a wonderful truth that confounds our understanding and belies the credibility of man, that God in the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ should come to earth and die on the Cross to pay the price for our sins.
For our benefit, He was born in the likeness of man and lived a sinless life so that He could be made sin for us and take the full force of God's wrath upon Himself - in our place.
It is precious to discover that He was led like a lamb to the slaughter for us, and willingly and quietly took the punishment that you and I deserve so that our sins could be completely forgiven through His sacrificial death, and by faith in Him, the power of sin has been broken in our lives and we have been placed in union with Christ and identified with His life.
Like other watchmen on the wall, Micah looked down the corridors of time to proclaim a Saviour Who is Christ the Lord, and His name was to be called Jesus for He shall save His people, Israel, from their sins.
In that day, God will forgive them their sins because the blood of their Saviour will cleanse all who cry, blessed is He Who comes in the name of the Lord.
At a time when much of the Body of Christ seems to have lost its way and has succumbed to many false doctrines that are infiltrating many churches, let us rejoice with Israel and sing, Who is a God like You, Who pardons sin and forgives the transgression of the remnant of his inheritance? You do not stay angry forever, but delight to show mercy.
And through Him all families of the earth will be blessed if they simply trust in Him; the only begotten Son of God, the Word made flesh Who paid the price for the sins of the whole world.
While we were dead in sin and estranged from our Maker, He demonstrated His amazing love towards us by sending Jesus, His dearly beloved Son, to be the propitiation for our sin.
There is no greater love that He could have shown than by giving His Son to die on the Cross for our sin.
There are those who blame God for their problems without realising that we are born to live in a fallen world, where self-imposed sin or the wrongdoings of others, causes mischief and distress in our lives and in the lives of those we love.
Those who believe, both Jew and Gentile alike, know Him to be Jesus Christ the Righteous, Who died for the sin of the world and rose again the third day.
He will be acknowledged as that great King of Righteousness, Who came to save His people from their sin.
The one who hates his brother does not know where he is going because the darkness, caused by his hatred, has blinded his eyes.This is, indeed, a strong condemnation of the 'one' who hates his brother, especially as this serious state of affairs does not refer to the condition of an unbeliever prior to their salvation, but to a Christian after having been born of the Spirit.Earlier in the epistle, John explained that the believer who sins, must confess his sin to God the Father… and the Lord Jesus will act as our Heavenly Advocate so that our sins may be forgiven and fellowship with the Father may be restored.Hatred is a sin and every sin we commit causes the believer's fellowship with the Father to be broken – until our sin is confessed to Him.
John explained earlier that IF we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness – which will return us back into fellowship with Him.John also reiterates the command that Christ gave His followers, just before His death: Love as I have loved.
As born-again believers, our sin was judged at the Cross and we are no longer under God's condemnation, but as born-again children of God, we are to live as God instructs us and to love as Christ loved us - in purity of heart, humble obedience, and for His greater glory.
Salvation is indeed from the Lord, for God planned and purposed that His only begotten Son would be born as a Man, that His name would be called Jesus, and that He would save His people from their sins: For there is no other name given under heaven whereby we must be saved.
But the sin nature in man that was imputed to the human race when Adam disobeyed God, caused man to walk in enmity towards God, in disobedience, and to place self on the throne of his life, instead of the Lord.
If a born-again believer chooses to live their life from the source of the old sin nature, he will never do that which is pleasing in the sight of God, for only as a believer lives his life from the source of the new- life in Christ is he able, through the power or His Spirit, to the glory of God the Father.
His father announced that John would be a prophet of the Most High and give God's people a knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their sin... and throughout his ministry, John gave testimony of the Person and work of Christ.
He pointed to Christ's first advent as the Lamb of God Who takes away the sin of the world, and also of His Second Coming, when he simply shouted, Behold the Lamb of God! - for Jesus is also the Lamb that sits upon the throne and Who has authority to open the seven seals of Revelation.
He must increase, but I must decrease, is a consequential statement that John made after Nicodemus had been given the gospel, that God loved the world so much that He gave His only begotten Son to be the sacrifice for sin, and whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life, but he who does not believe is judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
It mingles with the blood-red stream that flows from the veins of God's only begotten Son Who alone could pay the enormous price for the sin of the world by shedding His lifeblood on our account.But first, the eternal Son of God must be born into the human race as the perfect Son of Man.
God the Son, must first set aside His glory and be born into the race that He created – yet He was to be born without Adam's imputed sin and man's inherited, fallen nature.Only the shed blood of a sinless Man would satisfy God's fierce wrath against the evils of humanity's sin, and Israel was chosen to be the one nation through whom this Saviour – the Son of God, would come.
THEY were His chosen people who were to tell the wonderful message of salvation to a cursed, Gentile world which was drowning in sin.
BUT although Israel broke covenant with God, the silken thread of His goodness, grace, and comfort continued to be woven into the history of Israel – which would finally produce an amazing tapestry of salvation for every human life who would trust His Word.God in His grace, sent His only begotten Son to pay the enormous price for their sin and the sin of the whole world, and in Isaiah chapter 40, this great prophet of Israel begins to write his beautiful, prophetic words of comfort to God's people which would eventually be manifested in the birth, life, and sacrifice of the incarnate Word of God.
Through this heavenly Person, the glory of the LORD was revealed when Jesus, Son of God and Son of Man, was born into the human race to save His people from their sin.The glory of the Lord was revealed at Christ's First Coming, which resulted in His death, burial, and Resurrection from the dead, through which He made purification for our sins.
Indeed, we discover that the supernatural love of God is far beyond our understanding, as was demonstrated when God sent His only begotten Son into the world to become the sacrifice for our sins, even dying for us when we were His bitterest foes.
His sacrificial death paid the price for our sins, while His eternal life breaks forever the power of sin and death in the life of those who believe, by faith.
He died a death that we deserve, as the burden of our sin was laid upon the sinless Son of Man, our Kinsman- Redeemer.
The Lord Jesus suffered cruel treatment and gave up His life willingly so that all who believe on Him might not perish but be given peace with God, and have His inner peace guarding our hearts: For by His stripes we are healed, not a healing of the body, but an everlasting healing of the spirit and the forgiveness of sins.
By His death and Resurrection, the Lord Jesus paid the enormous price for our sins and broke the power of sin and death in our life forever, returning us into fellowship with the Father.
BUT herein is God's LOVE (as well as His righteousness, holiness, goodness, and grace), not that we loved God (for we were dead in our sins and at enmity with Him), but that HE loved us so much that He sent His only begotten Son into the world to be the propitiation for our sins so that ALL who believe on Him, would not perish but have everlasting life.
Jesus was sent to the lost sheep of the house of Israel, and John the Baptist called upon Israel to repent nationally, turn from sin, follow their Messiah, and fulfil their original calling to tell the world of God.
Once again, the nation of Israel was being called on to repent nationally, turn from sin, follow their Messiah, and fulfil their original calling to tell the world of God's love, and grace, and His plan of salvation.
He paid the price for sin on our account... freely and without cost... and He broke the power of sin in our life so that He could live in us, carry out His righteous work through us, and produce in us the fruit of righteousness as a living testimony of His goodness and grace.
She questioned the Word of God, altered it to fit her own desires, and influenced her husband - which caused sin to enter the world and man's fallen nature to impact every subsequent generation.
She gave in to temptation and fell into sin. She was not only deceived when Satan contradicted God's established Word, but she also disobeyed God's command and ate of the fruit.
She chose to discount God's Word, ignore the consequences of her sin and took the fruit and ate, and she gave to her husband with her ... and he ate.
It was only after she had eaten of the tree of knowledge that she found herself spiritually separated from God and dead in trespasses and sin.
Temptation is not sinful, but yielding to temptation is a sin.
Looking at the tree and even touching it was not a sin, but disobeying God's command not to eat was the sin.
Her first, foolish step on the slippery slope to sin was lingering near the forbidden fruit where she could easily be tempted.
Her final mistake was allowing the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye, and pride to influence her to sin.
He did not seem to warn her or try to prevent her from sinning, but was equally guilty of sin.
God, in His wisdom, knew man would sin and graciously set His plan of redemption in motion, whereby a second and final Adam was sent to redeem His fallen race: For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. Praise His holy name.
Despite breaking their covenant with the Lord, staying in apostasy, and indulging in spiritual adultery, the Lord is ready and willing to save His people from their sins.
Servants like Moses and Joshua, and prophets like David and Isaiah, called the nation to repent of their sin and live godly lives, with many promises of restoration and blessing on the one hand, and warnings of discipline if they refused, on the other.
They were to repent of sin, so He may have compassion on them, and freely forgive them.
Jesus paid the price for the sin of the whole world – such that whosoever believes on Him is redeemed by His precious blood and transferred into the Kingdom.
Although Christ’s Millennial reign on earth will be a time of righteous rule, when the wolf will lie down with the lamb, the Lord Jesus will be required to reign with a rod of iron for the inhabitants of His earthly kingdom will continue to be born with a sin nature – until ALL thing are made new.
There will be no war, no death, no sin, no rebellion, no sickness, and no pain in the new heaven and the new earth – for the former things will have passed away.
Sadly, they do not yet know that Purim is a dim shadow of their great salvation which comes through faith in Jesus Christ - for the eternal Son of God came to earth as the perfect Son of Man to pay the price for their sins and to redeem His people, Israel, as foretold by the ancient prophets.
The division of light from darkness as God's first act of creation is almost a picture of the illuminated soul that has been made alive in Christ Jesus through spiritual rebirth and placed into the kingdom of light, while the ones that are dead in their sins remain a prisoner in the kingdom of darkness.
And this passage is one that seeks to give a tiny glimpse into the magnitude of what it means that God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son to die in our place and take the punishment for sin that we justly deserve.
He not only died as our substitute by receiving the punishment we justly deserve, but He also died TO sin on behalf of us - to set us free from sin's sovereignty over us.
He not only paid the price for our sins, but he broke the power of sin in the life of all who trust in Him for salvation.
Sin caused fallen man to be separated from his holy Creator and yet God in His grace, wisdom, justice, and mercy, chose to reveal Himself and His glorious plan of salvation through His Word.
The Lord is no less our Shield and Hiding Place in this sin-sick world in which we live.
Man was made in the image and likeness of God, but that image became distorted and marred when sin reared its ugly head and man chose the path of disobedience over the pathway to peace, the highway to holiness, the road of righteousness.
Instead of choosing to live in innocent dependence upon their Creator, man freely chose to rebel against the true and living God, which resulted in an inputed sin nature and an inherited tendency towards sin.
We can only attain to the standard that God requires of all his children if we die to self and live to Christ - if we keep the old sin nature nailed to the Cross and live, and move, and have our being in the new born-again nature of the Christ-life that we receive at salvation.
Jesus is the good Shepherd of the sheep Who laid down His life for us, and just as the blood of the Passover lamb was smeared on the lintels of their house to cover Israel's sins and redeem them from Egyptian slavery, so the blood of Christ cleanses us from all wrongdoing and redeems us from the slavery of sin.
May the joy we have in our Lord Jesus Christ be made complete as we speak of the lovely Lord Jesus, through Whom we have received forgiveness of sin and life everlasting.
He was the Lamb of God Who would take away the sin of the world.
But God’s salvation painted a very different picture from Israel’s perceived imagination of deliverance, at that first advent of the Lord Jesus Christ.He shall save His people from their oppressors but FIRST He must save them from their sin.
The kingdom was indeed to be set up but FIRST they must be redeemed by a Kinsman-Redeemer. They would be able to enter the kingdom of heaven but FIRST they must repent of their national sins for the Kingdom of heaven was near.
FIRST must come national repentance for centuries of sin before national victory and entrance into the eternal Kingdom.
They were being called to remove everything in their lives that hindered their walk with the Lord, and accept the King Whom God had anointed to rule over them – they were to repent of their sins.
The love of God for the world was so great that He sent His beloved Son to be the sin-sacrifice for the whole of mankind, but Christ's prayer was not for the world, but for the men who would represent Him to the world.
Like Israel, we too have been saved by grace through faith in God's Word and cleansed by the blood of the perfect Lamb of God Who takes away the sin of the world and triumphed over death for all who trust in Him.
When Christ was rejected by the leaders of Israel and condemned to die at the hands of their cruel Roman overlords, it was through this tiny company of godly Jews that the glorious gospel of the grace of God was first delivered to a world that was dead in trespasses and sins.
It was Peter whose inspired words caused three thousand souls from the lost sheep of the house of Israel, to repent of their sins and to turn to Christ.
And we who have trusted in Christ as Saviour and seek to live Spirit-filled godly lives, rejoice with exceeding great joy for the faithful testimony of this little remnant of believing Jews, who were the first to testify of the death, burial, and Resurrection of the Lamb of God Who takes away the sin of the world.
As we journey through this life of pain and sorrow, we are to proclaim to the world, in thought, word, action, attitude, and motive, the excellent glories of our heavenly Father Who redeemed us from the darkness of sin and death - into the glories of His life and light, in Christ.
We were also chosen to be a royal priesthood for our God, so that we may sing out the praises of His name to those who are lost in their trespasses and sins.
Our worship, praise, and thanksgiving, will resound throughout the eternal ages to come because God had graciously called us out of the darkness of sin and death, and a life without Christ, into the glorious light of His holy presence and eternal light and love.
But we who have trusted in His holy name have been forgiven of sin, made holy and blameless in His sight, and been given all we need for life and godliness - according to His riches in mercy and everlasting love.
How we praise His holy Name... for we who were once dead in our sins and shrouded in the thick blackness of sin, have been called out of darkness into His wonderful light so that we might proclaim to all with whom we come in contact, the excellences of our heavenly Father and the grace of Kinsman Redeemer - Who loved us so much that He was prepared to go to the Cross for our sake, so that our sins could be forgiven, and we could exhibit the glories of His grace, not only in this world but also in the ages to come.
The covenant made by God with Israel, had been set aside and it significance forgotten, even though the Ark, the Tabernacle, the Feasts, the Sacrifices, the Temple, and every Temple article, pointed to the Person and Work of Christ, Whose shed blood would save His people from their sins.
When we were eternally saved by grace through faith in Christ, forgiven of our sin, declared righteous before God, positioned in Christ, indwelt by the Spirit, and made one with Him - nothing and no-one should be placed alongside Him - for there is nothing to compare with Christ's sacrifice on the Cross of Calvary for you and for me.
How blessed are those whose iniquities are forgiven and whose sins are covered.
It removes the freedom we have in Christ and places people in bondage to sin.
It was because his sins were forgiven BY FAITH, that David wrote in Psalm 32, How blessed are those whose iniquities are forgiven and whose sins are covered.
No doubt the Holy Spirit had been convicting David of his sin for many months until he finally confessed, against You and You only have I sinned and done this great evil.
On that day David discovered that when a child of God confesses their sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
No wonder David cried out, BLESSED ARE THOSE WHOSE LAWLESS DEEDS HAVE BEEN FORGIVEN AND WHOSE SINS HAVE BEEN COVERED.
He did not have to carry out some penance or legalistic action to atone for his sin - his sin (past, present and future) was forgiven because of his faith in God's sacrifice for sin - Jesus Christ the righteous... and when any post-salvation sin was confessed, David was restored into fellowship with the Lord.
The person who is most critical of the faults, failings, and sins of others is often guilty of the self-same faults, failings, and sins. 'When you point a finger of accusation at another, remember you have three fingers of accusation pointing right back at yourself,' as the old saying goes.
He simply stooped down, and with His finger wrote on the ground. But when they persisted in asking Him, He straightened up, and said to them, 'He who is without sin among you, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.' Once more Jesus stooped down, and wrote on the ground.
Some speculate that it listed the sins of the men accusing this woman.
But when they persisted in asking Him, He straightened up, and said to them, 'He who is without sin among you, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.'
Jesus did not excuse this woman's adultery by finding fault with God's law, for later He challenged her to face her wrong-doing and to go and sin no more. And by His atoning death, she too was forgiven by grace through faith.
There is no sin so great that it cannot be forgiven, except the sin of unbelief.
For the one who believes in the Son has forgiveness of sin and life everlasting, but the one who refuses to believe in the Son does not have forgiveness, and will not see life.
The punishment for adultery was stoning, but the wages of all sin and every trespass, whether sins of the body or sins of the heart, whether physical sins executed in our body or senses, or spiritual sins undertaken in the secret smugness of our own prideful hearts, the wages of all sin is death, and death means separation from God.
He took the punishment for our sin - the punishment that we so justly deserve.
And how we praise and thank Him that by grace He took our punishment upon Himself, and through faith in Christ, we are forgiven of all our sins through His atoning death.
Praise God that by faith the PENALTY of sin has been dealt with.
But in addition, the POWER of sin (the old sin nature's control), can be broken in our lives.
It is through the indwelling Holy Spirit, that the life of Christ within is able to overcome our innate sin, our old, inherited, imputed sin nature, (the old-man as Paul calls it) that lurks within.
And a day is fast approaching when we will be with Christ in heaven and the PRESENCE of sin will be gone forever.
He alone had the lawful right to condemn her for her sin.
Go, and sin no more.'
May we never forget that we are not to become judge or jury for the sin of our fellow man, for we are all sinners, and only by God's grace have we been forgiven of our sin.
The Lord Jesus Christ has rightly been called the Prince of Peace, for Christ is the propitiation for our sins, bringing peace with God for all who believe in Him.
God knew that man would sin in the garden and become eternally estranged from his Heavenly Father, but in His grace and justice, God determined that His only begotten Son would become His sacrificial Lamb Who alone could be the propitiation for the sins of the whole world.
It is a divine love that cannot be compared with the inadequate love of fallen man, but is a love so penetrating that He sent the unique and only begotten Son of His love to be the propitiation for our sins.
We are only able to offer up spiritual sacrifices that are acceptable to God because we are identified with JESUS. Jesus identified with our sin through His sacrifice so that we could be identified with His righteousness, by faith.
And during the dispensation of Law, only the High Priest was permitted to enter into the presence of the Lord God, to make atonement for sin, once every year.
No unsaved man can approach God, for sin separates God from man.
Only the saved can fellowship with the Father and enter God's presence, for not only have our sins been forgiven, but we have been placed IN Christ and must approach the Father THROUGH the Lord Jesus.
The Bible teaches that a man must pray in faith, and without any doubt, unforgiveness, or sin in his heart.
We are to pray for our daily food and to ask forgiveness for any sin... and we are also to be prepared to forgive others, knowing how much our Saviour has forgiven us.
While most of God's people refused to turn from their sin and return to God, there was always a tiny remnant who waited eagerly for their Messiah to come.
Jesus came as a sacrificial offering to put an end to sin, to seal up vision and prophecy, and to bring in everlasting righteousness.
Their proud hearts were not broken by sin and their long, repetitive invocations were insincere.
Forgiveness in this verse has nothing to do with God's judicial forgiveness of our sins.
We are justified by God and forgiven of our sin by grace through faith in the atoning work of Jesus Christ on the Cross.
Although all our sins, past, present, and future are judicially forgiven at the Cross, there are times when we allow the old sin nature to influence us to sin which removes us, for a time, from fellowship with the Father until we confess our faults before Him.
There are also times when other people sin against us - directly or indirectly - wittingly or unwittingly.
However, Jesus was not teaching here that we earn the right to God's judicial forgiveness by forgiving other people as this would be contrary to the Bible's teaching that the forgiveness of sin is an expression of God's grace and mercy because of our faith in Christ.
Rather, it is showing that in consideration of the immense forgiveness that we have received from our Heavenly Father through the forgiveness of our sins - how much more should we forgive those that harm us?
May we, who have been forgiven of our sin by faith in Christ, be quick to forgive others their trespasses, shortcomings, and debts - in the same way that we have been so graciously forgiven by our Father in heaven so that we may maintain sweet fellowship with Him and show forth His goodness and grace in our lives.
The natural, unsaved man is dead in his sins and at enmity with God.
The fallen nature of fallen man is a rebel against God and cannot ever please Him, for the fallen, carnal nature is not subject to the law of God but is a slave to Satan, a slave to sin and death.
However, Paul makes a big distinction between those that saved by grace and the unsaved natural man - those that are born again and those that are dead in their sins.
The new nature is to grow in grace while the old sin nature is to remain nailed to the Cross, in the place of death.
The old sin nature seeks remain in control in the life of a believer, but must remain nailed to the Cross for it can do nothing to please God.
But if or when we sin, we give the old, sinful nature supremacy over our new born-again nature, which can stifle the inner workings of the Holy Spirit in our life - quenching or grieving Him and stunting our spiritual growth.
But Adam disrupted God's divine plan, causing his environment to become cursed, and inflicting upon himself and the entire race of humanity, the tragic wages of sin which is DEATH.
The first man failed to fulfil Deity's plans and purpose for humanity, but the triune Godhead decreed that a second Man would redeem Adam's fallen race from their sins.
He was the last Adam and His name would be called Jesus, the only begotten Son of the most high God: For He shall save His people from their sins.
God is Spirit, but He purposed and planned to be born into the human race, clothed in human flesh and made in the likeness of fallen man, yet without sin.
God purposed to become part of that future generation from Adam so that He could save His people from their sins and redeem a race of sinners from eternal death.
We were born in Adam's fallen race and God saw us as dead in trespasses and sins.
No matter what sins you have committed or will commit in the future, you are accepted in the Beloved.
We may be chastened by our Heavenly Father due to sin or rebelliousness.
Some say that you can remove yourself out of His hands, while others worry that they have committed an unforgivable sin, but on both counts this would be a slur on the character of God, for it implies that Christ's sacrifice on the Cross was not sufficient to save us and keep us.
And while his brother, Cain, gave the Lord an unacceptable offering through the works of his own hands, Abel's sacrifice of an innocent lamb was acceptable to the Lord, for without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sins.
God commended Abel’s faith by accepting his gift, and although he died by the hand of his jealous brother, the faith of this young man has become a great witness throughout generations and a life that points to the true sacrificial Lamb of God, Whose shed blood takes away the sin of the world.
The parable of the fruitless fig tree was a vivid picture of apostate Israel, who refused to repent of their sin.
They could not comprehend that they were sinners in need of salvation, nor could they recognise the barrenness of their soul or the importance of repenting of their sin, both individually and nationally.
Israel wanted their Messiah to be a conquering hero who would save them from their Roman overlords, not a Saviour who demanded them to repent of their sin.
Was the parable no more than another call for Israel to repent of their sin, rather than an indication that the fig tree would be cut down in twelve month's time and the day of God's judgement be poured out on His sinful nation?
Paul had taught them the truth of the gospel of grace, so that by faith in Jesus, they had been born again, forgiven of their sin, transferred from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of God's dear Son, and received the gift of eternal life.
He entreats His people to repent of their sins and wash themselves in His cleansing flood: “Come now, and let us reason together,' says the LORD, 'Though your sins are as scarlet, they will be as white as snow.
Trusting God's Word, acknowledging their sin, admitting their guilt, renouncing their idolatry, repenting of their evil ways and turning from their ungodliness had to precede God's purifying and cleansing for Israel..
and likewise as Christians we have to admit our guilt, renounce our idolatry, repent and recognise that we are sinners who need a Saviour so that by faith in His sacrificial death and glorious resurrection we may be cleansed of our wicked ways, forgiven of our sin, washed in His precious blood, declared righteous in the eyes of our heavenly Father - and live a life that is holy unto the Lord.
As believers, we all have been given a new life in Christ which is placed alongside our old sin nature, and the thoughts of our hearts and the meditation of our minds can be influenced by either.
Whatever flows from our new life in Christ is pleasing to the Lord, but if we choose to allow our actions, attitudes, and the words that come from our lips to be influenced by our old sin nature, we may fool other people, but we can never deceive the Lord, for He alone knows the intent of our heart.
But God in His grace had planned a new creation, a second MAN - the last ADAM so that through Christ, humanity could be redeemed from his sin, renewed in righteousness after the image of God, and restored into his rightful, sovereign position.
Zephaniah's serious warning should also admonish all who know the truth of the gospel of grace, not to be indecisive but to turn from their sin, seek the Lord while He may be found and not delay their decision, for the Word of the Lord is true and altogether righteous, and a day is coming when He will sit on His Great White Throne of judgement to judge all the unbelieving inhabitants of the earth.
Wickedness in the days of Sodom and Gomorrah had reached such depths of depravity that sin had to be punished.
God in His omniscience, knew their sin had reached its fullness, but He wanted Abraham to understand that He is a righteous God and His judgement does not fall indiscriminately.
It was when the Lord revealed His plan to destroy the wicked cities and their inhabitants that Abraham not only considered the fate of Lot and others in that city who had trusted God for salvation, but also had pity for the many souls who were dead in their sin.
And although man fell at the beginning, causing sin to enter the world, the Lord set eternity deep within the heart of man: He has also set eternity in their heart.
The result of this one sin of Adam brought calamity of the entire human race and placed everyone under God's condemnation and death.
We are sinners - not only because we sin but also because we are imputed with a sin nature because of Adam's transgression.
In addition to our imputed sin nature from Adam, we inherit a fallen nature from our parents..
and we were born in sin.
We were born dead in trespasses and sins, at enmity with God and without hope in the world - and the soul that sins shall die, for the wages of sin is death.
Many like to bemoan the fact that we are made sinners because of Adam's sin.
Many feel it is unfair that we have to inherit the sin nature from our forefathers, because of their sin..
but this is failure to recognise God's incredible grace in His simple plan for man's redemption - for as by ONE sin we were all made sinners..
It was Adam's one sin that rendered us sinners and inputed us with a sin nature..
By His one act of obedience we are inputed with Christ's righteousness - and it is ours simply by faith - by believing in the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sin and life everlasting.
Like the whole of humanity, this woman's sin caused eternal separation from her Creator, but on one special visit to Jacob's well she found herself face to face with God incarnate.
She needed to drink of the living water of life that only comes by grace through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ Himself, Who alone paid the price for her sin - and ours.
When God convicts a man or woman of their sin, their reaction will lead to a confession of sinfulness or a hardening of the heart.
Though some see the woman's question on the place and purpose of worship as evading the sin-issue at hand, others see her response as a genuine, heart-enquiry of how she might be forgiven of her sins and brought back into sweet fellowship with the God of Israel.
A moment was arriving when the old covenant would be set aide and a new covenant would be cut, by means of the precious blood of the perfect Lamb of God Who takes away the sin of the world.
He redeemed us from slavery to sin and forgave us all our sins, and He also revealed to us who have been made His children, by grace through faith, the glorious mystery of His will.
For the unbeliever, faith in God is trusting in the death and Resurrection of the Lord Jesus for redemption, trusting Him for the forgiveness of sins.
Once we trust God for salvation (where God paid the price our sins), we should then trust God for our sanctification (where God breaks the power of sin in our life).
Its members believe in the historical Cross of Christ, and have placed their faith in the sacrifice that He made on that Cross, which saves people from their sins.
Only a perfect Man without sin, could redeem fallen humanity.
God the Son was good enough to pay the price of sin, but God is Spirit, and spirit is spirit and flesh is flesh and blood!
So God the Son had to come in human form if He were to fulfil the Father's plan of redemption and become the human sacrifice that would pay the price for the sin of the world.
The first man sinned and lost his dominion over the earth, and all his offspring were born with a fallen sin nature, dead in trespasses and sin.
As the eternal Son of God, Jesus was good enough to pay the price of sin, and so He came into the world as the sinless Son of Man.
He became the God-Man, Who walked in spirit and truth and Who alone was good enough to be the sin-sacrifice.
He lived a sinless life and died a sacrificial death as payment for man's sin.
God had determined that a man must die for mankind's sin.
A man's blood must be shed to pay the price for the sin of humanity.
For not even the Father judges anyone, but He has given ALL judgment to the Son. By giving all judgement to Jesus, Who is the second Adam, as well as the sin-sacrifice, with life within Himself, God is returning Man into his original position on earth, with dominion over all creation, as determined before man fell.
Sinners saved by grace through faith in Him know that the judgement we deserve, as payment for our sin, was paid IN FULL at the cross.
It warns of the futility of doubting God's Word and reminds us of the beautiful fruit that comes from a spirit of patience and grace.He warns against conceiving sin in our heart and the devastation that can be caused by an unguarded tongue.
And James also teaches about the effects of true and false wisdom – the cause of covetousness and its righteous cure.And here in this verse, the apostle simply explains to his readers the consequences of knowing what is godly and honourable in the sight of the Lord, and yet refusing to carry it out... therefore, he warns, to the one who knows the right thing to do yet does not do it, to him it is sin.The man or woman who has become a child of God by faith, may not be under the law of Moses, but we are most certainly under the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus, and James teaches that to know what is good but to do what is evil – whether in thought, word, or deed, dishonours the Lord Who bought us with His precious blood and blemishes our testimony for Christ.As children of God, our motive and attitude should be to live for Christ every moment of the day – to present our lives as a living sacrifice to Him, to trust His Word and walk in utter dependence on Him, moment by moment, and for His greater glory.Living the Christian life as God intended and instructed, should be the main aim of the Christian, and failure to do so is identified by James as a sin which should be confessed to the Lord and addressed in our life if we are to remain in holy fellowship with the Father and grow in grace, to His honour and glory.
It was during the first Sabbath day of creation that God rested from His work, but death entered the world as a result of man's sin, and from that day forward, both the Father and the Son have been working ceaselessly to redeem men and women from a lost eternity and to return them back into fellowship with God.
Whether we are faced with fleshly temptations that rise up from our old sin nature or testing trials that come from above, we know that God takes all things and weaves them beautifully together for good, to those that love God and are called by grace through faith in Christ, according to His good purpose.
And though they were rebuked by the prophet Samuel for this grave, rebellious sin against the Lord, God in His mercy was still prepared to bless His covenant nation, which He had called into existence through Abraham, Isaac, and the twelve sons of Jacob.
What a wonderful promise was given to that prideful and rebellious nation: that the Lord would not abandon His people, despite their repeated grievous sins against Himself.
The barbaric suffering and humiliation that accompanied Christ’s cruel death at Calvary was designed to bring to completion God’s foreordained redemption plan which He purposed would bring many condemned sinners back into a right relationship with God, by faith, and adopt them into His family as His children.The death of His only begotten Son was acceptable to the Father, because He alone was worthy to pay the price for the sin of the world.
God's ways are not our ways and His thoughts are so much higher than our thoughts, but it demonstrates His divine wisdom - for Christ's suffering fulfilled the righteous requirements of God’s justice and exemplifies the superabundance of His goodness, His grace, His love, and His merciful-kindness.Only the shed blood of a perfect Man was sufficient to satisfy God's wrath against sin.
Only He could become the substitute for the sin of mankind.
To break the power of sin and death, he had to offer Himself as the sacrifice for the sin of the world.
In order to bring many sons to glory, He must first become sin for us.
He not only died to pay the penalty for the sin of the world – He died so that the power of sin and death might be broken in the lives of all believe in His name - so that fallen sinners like you and me can be identified with His perfect righteousness.Only the eternal Creator-God Who was born as the perfect Sinless Man, had the credentials and authority to save humanity and bring many sons into glory.
The heavy yoke of bondage to sin is a weighty burden we all have to carry on the treadmill of life, which causes physical weariness, spiritual fatigue, and emotional exhaustion.
He came to the lost sheep of the house of Israel in fulfilment of Scripture, calling the entire nation to repent of their sin, return to the Lord, and trust HIM as Saviour.
He alone can lift the heavy yoke of bondage to sin which weighs down the burdened heart.
He alone can heal the broken-hearted, rescue those that are perishing, and set the captive free from the weighty burden of sin.
He opened his song of praise and petition by thanking God for turning His burning anger away from His disobedient people, pardoning their sins, bringing the exiles home from their Babylonian captivity, and restoring the fortunes of Jacob.
When a nation or individual is out of fellowship with the Lord or has backslidden into carnality or sin, that nation or individual finds they are estranged from God, and their joy in Him quickly evaporates.
Rejoicing in God our Saviour can never co-exist with unconfessed sin, and the psalmist clearly understood this.
He was quick to acknowledge the superabundant goodness and grace of God toward himself and his people, and was ready and willing to acknowledge that many perils lurk in the dark shadows of sin.
He was also a man who recognised the importance of prayer, praise, and thankfulness, and confessed that a righteous God must punish sin.
Lusting after money and the intense desire to gain more money and increase worldly wealth, is what is being spoken about here.Similarly, the love of money is not the single source of evil, as is so often implied in the secular song, mentioned above – but that the love of money is one of many ungodly ways that entices us into various sins and wickedness.Indeed, the context of this verse must also be considered, for Paul is contrasting the tranquil attitude of godly contentment and gratitude with a greedy craving for wealth, an insatiable hankering after riches, or the materialist mind-set which is embodied in a fallen world.One of the qualities that Paul lists in a church elder or overseer, earlier in the book, is that he is gentle, peaceable, and free from the love of money, for when godliness springs from a contented heart it is a great asset in a child of God.We should never forget that we came into this world with nothing... and when we die, we will take nothing from it.
But despite their shocking idolatry, the Lord graciously entreats them to repent of their sin, turn back to the Lord, and rend their hearts inwardly and not simply give a pretence of religiosity.
He is the second member of the triune Godhead, but this verse gives a beautiful glimpse into the incredible sacrifice that Christ made in order to save His people from their sins..
This verse gives a glimpse behind the scene of what the immortal, invisible, eternal, omniscient, omnipotent Son of God did in order to be born into the human race, to live as the perfect, Son of Man - and to die as the innocent Sacrifice for the sin of the whole world.
Christ gained complete victory over sin, death, and Satan through His death, burial, and Resurrection.
We are engaged in a spiritual battle with a wicked fallen angel and many evil principalities and powers who are the authors of evil, deception, lies, fear, sin, evil, unrest, and war.
He loved the world so much that He gave His only begotten Son as the sacrifice for sin so that whosoever believes on Him would not perish, but have everlasting life.
The punishment that we deserve was meted out to Christ on the Cross for our sake, and we are to glory in the scars that beautify the hands and feet of our Lord Jesus, for by His stripes we are healed, and by His blood our sins are forgiven.
It tells that Christ died a sacrificial death on the Cross to pay the price for our sin and break its power in our lives.
He explained that when Moses lifted up a brass serpent on a pole in the wilderness to heal all who believed; it was a type of Himself - the Son of Man Who would also be lifted up as the sacrifice for sin - and that ALL who believe on Him would be healed, declared righteous, and live eternally.
God hates sin, and God hates this evil, corrupted, Satanic world-system, which is blinding the perishing to the glorious gospel of grace and leading many more into a lost eternity.
But sin must be punished because God is righteous, and the wages of sin is death.
It was God Who purposed that the only way man's death sentence could be reversed was if a perfect, sinless Man was willing to pay the price for sin.
And so out of love for us, God gave His only begotten Son as the sacrifice for sin and to take the punishment that WE deserve, so that all who believe in Him will not perish but have eternal life.
The full force of God’s wrath had to be poured out on a sinless member of the human race if the price of sin was to be paid, and God determined before the foundation of the world, that the eternal Son of God would become the sinless Son of Man.
He would be born into His own creation and willingly pay the price for the sin of the world through His substitutionary death.
God loves sinners with a passion, but cannot look in sin - and so He Who knows the end from the beginning, predetermined in eternity past to redeem His fallen race by providing a substitute for sin - a perfect Man Who would pay the price of sin and receive the punishment that WE deserve... so that WHOSOEVER believes on Him would not perish but have eternal life.
The forgiveness of sin, life everlasting, and the gates of heaven itself are flung open wide to whosoever will believe on the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation.
The eternal Son of God set aside His glory and was born into the fallen race of man, to die on Calvary for your sin and mine.
In the beginning, the first Adam lost dominion over the earth through sin, but Jesus paid the price for sin through His own blood which He freely shed at Calvary, and became the second and last Adam.
It was the Father of peace Who sent the Prince of peace into the world to save sinners from their sin.
The peace we have with God through the forgiveness of sin is an unconditional gift for all who believe, and it remains our present possession through time and into eternity.
The peace of God is conditional and can be lost, destroyed, or broken, when we fall into sin, engage in fleshly activities, or regress into spiritual infancy.
And because fellowship with the Father is broken when through sin, carnality, indifference, or unbelief, it is evident that Paul is urging these believers to live a life that is well-pleasing to the Lord in thought, word, deed, and motive.
These prophecies speak of the time when national Israel will repent of their past sin - and the Gentile nations will know that God is the Lord.
Having gone through terrible times of trouble and great tribulation, and despite seeing their Holy City captured, it's wealth taken, it's people enslaved, and the rebuilt temple of God desecrated by the man-of-sin, who opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship - Zechariah gives God's people a wonderful message of hope.
On that day, Israel will call on the name of the Lord, recognise their Messiah, and repent of their sin.
Suffering for righteousness' sake must never be confused with the suffering we experience as a consequence of our sin or wrong choices.
We live in a fallen world where sin, sorrow, pain, and death is the portion of all men.
We live in a world where the vast majority of people are dead in their trespasses and sins, at enmity with God, and have willingly rejected His gracious offer of salvation through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
The truth of the gospel of grace is a mystery to those that are lost in their sin, and so the hatred and contempt they have for the Lord is transferred into hatred and contempt for His children.
Oh not Christ's suffering on the Cross, only HE could pay the price for sin, but we can be identified with the One who endured the Cross for us.
And through this special nation was to be born the Messiah Who would save His people from their sin and bring in everlasting righteousness for all people.
The Lord earnestly implores the Gentiles, who were dead in their sin, to turn from their false idols and look to Him.
There is an increasing urgency to spread abroad the gospel of salvation to ALL who are dead in their sins so that they may turn to the Lord and be saved - for the Lord has spoken: Turn to Me and be saved, all the ends of the earth, for I am God, and there is no other.
ot the substitutionary suffering for the sin of mankind which Christ alone could achieve but Paul was content to suffer for Christ's sake in order that he might attain to the resurrection of the dead.
and as the consequence of sin, the earth was cursed, sorrow and pain entered the world and God started once again to work.
God's Sabbath rest was rudely interrupted by sin, but God in His grace knew before the foundation of the world that man would disobey Him and His work of redemption would have to begin at a point in time.
God foreknew that man would sin against Him and that only the shed blood of a perfect Kinsman-Redeemer could pay the price for the sin of the whole world.
to pay the price for sin - and so began God's ongoing work of redemption.
Indeed the day was fast approaching when Christ's redeeming work on the cross would result in the defeat of sin and victory over death for all who would believe on His name.
Jesus as Son of God and Saviour of the world released this man from thirty-eight years of slavery to sin and Satan..
The repetitive call for Israel as a nation to repent of their sins and to turn back to God, had resounded down through the centuries, but the numerous warnings of many prophetic voices continued to go unheeded.
Most of that generation missed their Messiah and are placed under condemnation as prophesied, but the little remnant of Israel who accepted Christ's message of salvation at His First Coming, received the promised restoration; the forgiveness of sins and life everlasting.
Christ took the punishment for the sins of all who believe on the name of the Son of God for salvation; God's wrath was poured out on Him in our stead, and for His sake, there is no longer condemnation to those that are in Christ Jesus.
To myriads of men and women, the Lord has proved Himself to be the Righteousness of God, in Christ: For God made Him Who had no sin to be sin for us, so that we might become the righteousness of God - in Christ.
When fallen man can look beyond his rebellious, prideful myopia, and recognise that by God's eternal power the worlds were made, he can start to glimpse into the very character and heart of God Who loved the world so much that He sent His only begotten Son to pay the enormous price for your sins and mine.
What godly lives we would live if it were not for the foibles of others!But this life is fraught with disappointments and disturbances and we are warned that murmuring is the consequence of unbelief, while disputing is the product of a discontented heart which brings in its wake grievances, disease, envy, and sin, as exemplified in Israel’s forty-year long wilderness wanderings when the people murmured against God's wisdom and complained about His gracious provision.God, in His wisdom, knows that patient-endurance, humility of heart, and a soul that trusts in the Lord, does not spring forth from a stress-free life but is the out-working of a man or woman who has received God’s sufficient grace to face any temptation or trial which may happen along the way.Paul knew that a Christ-like character is not birthed from a bed of ease and that blameless integrity and spiritual maturity takes many long years, if not a lifetime, to fully develop as one is tried like silver or honed in a millstone of suffering. God uses the storms, sadness, disappointments, and dangers of everyday life, as well as the difficult people that cross our path, to conform us into the likeness of Christ.Let us, therefore, resist the temptation to enter into murmurings and disputes with one another and let us trust the Lord in all things so that our lives will be a living sacrifice that becomes, to Him, a sweet fragrance and we will become blameless and pure children of God, without fault in this warped and crooked generation.
Worry is self-centred and selfish and is rooted in the sin of unbelief, but prayer is God-centred and pleasing to Him, for prayer is built on a heart that trusts His Word and depends upon Him for all our needs.
But when humanity fell due to sin, Christ had to come to earth as a human being so that He might taste death for every man.
The wages of sin is death, but the Son of God set aside His heavenly glory in order to clothe Himself with human flesh and take upon Himself the punishment that we deserve so that by faith in Him we might be forgiven of our sin and returned into the same privileged fellowship with the Father that man enjoyed before the fall - but to do so God had to become man.
His Seed (the Lord Jesus Christ) was to come to earth as mankind's Kinsman-Redeemer and He was to save His people from their sins.
We are all doomed sinners... fallen creatures deserving of death and yet God sent Christ to atone for our sins.
He will rule and reign from this time forward and forevermore, for He is the wonderful Councillor, the everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace, and by Him, and through Him, and for Him were all things made, and without Him was not anything made that was made - and His name is Jesus, for He shall save His people from their sins.
The desire of his heart is that those who have come to faith through his ministry might not sin but would strive to live lives that are holy and acceptable to God: My little children, he says, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin...
However, John is not suggesting that sinless perfection is achievable in our fallen state, but is letting us know that we have a freewill choice to sin or to resist the temptation to sin.
John knows that we are fallen men and fallen women with a sinful nature who have been saved by grace, redeemed by the blood of Christ, identified with His righteousness, and forgiven of our sin through faith in Him.
The apostle knows that we have an old sin nature, which is very prone to sin, and he also knows that when a believer sins, it removes us from sweet fellowship with the Father.
God will never have fellowship with a sinner for sin separates fallen man from a holy God.
The Lord is holy; He is without sin and will not compromise His holiness.
And so John warns us, My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin, but if anyone does sin, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.
'Though our union with God will never end, our communion with Him is broken when we sin.
Sin is the instrument that erects a barrier between ourselves and God, and close communion can only be restored if we confess our sin to Him... through Jesus Christ our Lord Who alone is able to bring us back into fellowship with the Father - for Jesus Christ is our Advocate.
Sin is the thing that blocks our fellowship and checks the sweet communion we can enjoy with our Heavenly Lord.
We have a sinless Man Who is ready to plead our case before God - Jesus Christ the righteous, for He is the propitiation for our sins.
Jesus is the one and only Mediator Who can restore man into fellowship with God.Our Lord Jesus is our representative Man Who identified with our sin.
He is the righteous One Who broke the power of sin in our lives.
Jesus is the only Person Who can plead our case before God when we confess our faults - when we acknowledge our sins before Him.
Indeed, He ever lives to make intercession for us at the throne of grace by pleading our case so that sin can be forgiven and fellowship restored.
Sometimes pride is the sin that comes between God and His child, and sometimes unforgiveness may bar the way to the throne of grace.
But whatever way we choose to transgress against the Lord, we must never forget that if we sin, we have an Advocate to Whom we should fly and cry out, Father, I have sinned.
And because of our faith in Christ Jesus, God will graciously open His arms of love wide and show us the nail prints in His hands which paid the price for your sin and mine.You see, little children, our sins are all forgiven, forever, to those that believe.
But the sin of a believer places us outside the gate of mutual fellowship with God.
But if we confess our sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous One Who will plead His blood over us and return us back into the arms of our Father, to Whom be praise and glory forever and ever, amen.
In that day, the nation of Israel will repent of their sin, recognise their folly, return to the Lord God of their fathers, and call out to their Messiah for salvation.
Part of the message Isaiah proclaimed to Israel was one of sin and judgement...which was fulfilled at Christ's first coming, but another part was a message of hope and restoration which will be played out on the world stage at His second advent.
Although unbelieving Israel has had to go through centuries of chastening because of their sin and will also have to endure the coming Time of Jacob's Trouble, a day is coming when the redeemed of Israel will finally realise their fault, repent of their sin, recognise their Messiah, and be ushered into the presence of the Lord their God.
The time is fast approaching when they will recognise Jesus as the One Who was wounded for their transgressions and pierced for their iniquities, and they will mourn for their sin.
One reason for the coming Tribulation period, is because God is holy and He is righteous and sin must be punished.
It was for love of Israel that Christ was sent by His Father as the Passover Lamb - the Lamb of God Who takes away the sin of the world.
It was for love of the world that God sent His beloved Son to earth to be the sacrifice for our sin, so that whoever believes in Him might not perish but have everlasting life.
He came to fulfil His ministry of reconciliation and to offer His life, as the ransom price for sin.
However, figuratively, literally or both, Elijah will come, like a voice, crying in the wilderness during the Great Tribulation, Repent of your sin and turn back to the true and living God, and choose life rather than death.
Elijah will come to testify to the truth of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus for the forgiveness of sin and life everlasting.
There is no condemnation to those that are in Christ Jesus, for they have received forgiveness of sin, by faith, and been declared righteous by God.
There is no further sacrifice for the forgiveness of their sin, for God's wrath was poured out on Christ Jesus, in our stead.
Indeed, it is a terrible thing to fall into the hands of the living God Who gave His only begotten Son to pay the price for the sin of the world.
May we be ready and willing to share the good news of the gospel of grace with all who are dead in trespasses and sins and under God's eternal condemnation.
May we fulfil our calling and become ministers of reconciliation between God and man so that some will turn from their wicked ways and trust in the Lord for the forgiveness of sin and life everlasting.
We see His plans and purposes unfurl as we come to a deeper understanding of Who He is through the life and death of His only begotten Son Who died for the sin of the world.
To a certain degree Haggai's prophecy was partially fulfilled at Christ's first coming, at that pivotal point in earth's history when the Son of God gained the victory over sin and Satan - over death and hell.
The sun was darkened, the earth quaked and a silent heaven looked on in wonder as man's Kinsman-Redeemer, offered His sinless life in full payment for the sin of the whole world.
Nicodemus knew the familiar story where a deadly bite from the fangs of fiery serpents was Israel's fatal punishment for their foolish rebellion and their grave sin against their long-suffering God.
And Nicodemus knew that in His grace and justice, God answered Moses' intercession on behalf of his people, Israel, and instructed Moses to lift up a brass serpent on a pole in the wilderness as a substitute for their sin.
And it is not by self-effort, extensive training, mortification, or ignoring the presence of sin in our life that we can be forgiven of our sins and have our lives redeemed from death.
It is only by looking at God's perfect Sacrifice for sin, Jesus Christ, our sin-Substitute Who was lifted up on the Cross so that all who would look on Him by grace through faith would live.
For it was at the Cross where Your sins and mine were judged.
It was when Christ was lifted up like the serpent in the wilderness that judgement for all sin was fully and finally made.
Let us exult His name together, and let us lift up the beautiful name of Jesus Christ to a lost and dying world that has been bitten by sin so that they too may look and live, by grace through faith in Him.
Sadly, the thoughts of the minds of these carnal Christians were continuously evil, for they had reverted to living the way of the world where they were dominated by the old sin nature rather than walking in spirit, truth, and love, being subject to their new life in Christ and yielded to the indwelling Spirit of God.
He also upbraided them for moral neglect and sexual sin, all of which presented a poor Christian testimony to the outside world and dishonoured the Lord Who bought them.
God's promise to Abraham includes ALL who believe in the Lord Jesus for the forgiveness of sin and life everlasting - and since God could swear by no one greater, He swore by Himself.
But because of Adam's sin, every man is born into this physical world spiritually dead - dead in trespasses and sins, at enmity with God, facing eternal separation from his Creator, and without hope in the world.
He was the perfect Son of Man Who would willingly give His own life as the only acceptable ransom-price for the sin of the whole world.
The Lord Jesus was not simply referring to the physical resurrection of people like Lazarus, Jairus' daughter, or the dead son of the widow of Nain, but to all who would hear and receive His message of salvation, and trust in His own redeeming blood for the forgiveness of sin and life everlasting.
God alone can forgive sins and He alone can give life, but God is Spirit and only the shed blood of a perfect Man could atone for the sins of the whole world.
Step by step, the Lord Jesus explained the necessity for a new, spiritual birth to Nicodemus, a renowned teacher of the Law who, despite his great learning and honoured religiosity, was dead in his sins, confused about the kingdom of God, and ignorant of his great need of a spiritual birth.
Spiritual truths cannot be absorbed by the carnal mind of sinful man and no amount of effort, education, religion, training, discipline, or experience can change the old sin nature, which is dead in trespasses and sins and eternally estranged from God.
Only the incarnate Son of God (the Word made flesh) Who came down from His heavenly residence to tabernacle with man on earth, and Who alone paid the purchase price for the sins of mankind, is equipped to speak of heavenly things: For No one has ascended into heaven, but He who descended from heaven: the Son of Man.
God alone was good enough to pay the price for humanities sin, but God is spirit and only a perfect, sinless Man could become the Saviour of humanity and redeem imperfect, sinful men.
How amazing that God should take the initiative to die for our sins so that we could be reconciled back to Himself, and be presented faultless and blameless before Him - IN CHRIST.
He came as the Son of Man to display the goodness of God and to die on the Cross for the sin of the world so that He could rise as the firstborn from the dead and become the one Mediator between God and men.
He made purification of sins through the sacrifice of Himself so that he could be God's representative to man.
Christ died for our sins, was buried, and rose again so that whosoever believes on HIM will not perish but have everlasting life.No one comes to the Father but by Me, were the words of Christ to a lost race of sinners, for He is the Word of God Who was made flesh and was chosen to be the one intermediary, the singular intercessor, the sole adjudicator, the only Mediator between God and man.
When Christ died, we died in Him, and we are to reckon ourselves dead to sin.
All who are positioned in Christ died to sin when Jesus died on the Cross.
When we are united with Him, the power of the sin nature is severed, so that we are enabled to live in newness of life in which grace reigns - the new life of Christ within.
The law of sin and death has been replaced by the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus.
Because the predominant audience for the book of Hebrews was initially Jewish believers in Christ, there are many references to Old Testament rules and regulations which have been superseded because of the death, burial, and Resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ Who gave His life as the full and final sacrifice for sin.
Having been saved by grace through faith in Christ, obtaining eternal redemption through the one and only means of salvation (by trusting in the Cross of Christ, for the forgiveness of sins) we are warned not to become legalistic, by reverting back to the Levitical system.
But every attack on Christianity has its roots in Satan's demonic agenda which is designed to blaspheme the God of heaven and earth, to discredit His holy Word, to belittle the Person and Work of the Lord Jesus on the Cross, to blind the eyes of the unsaved who are perishing, and to shipwreck the lives of those that have been saved by grace through faith in the Lord Jesus for the forgiveness of sins and life everlasting.
They were taken back into slavery to sin, trapped in a legalistic mindset, and once again found themselves under the curse of the Law.
When anxious thoughts start to flood our mind or when we are tempted to sin, our immediate reaction should be to look to Jesus and to remember who we are in Christ.
It is not a nice reminder of our pre-salvation status, but this is the raw truth of what the sin of pride and disobedience towards our Creator God has done to humanity in general, and you and me in particular.
The cost to the Father was the death of His only begotten Son, Who became sin so that we might be forgiven and be made the righteousness of God in Him.
He came to set up His kingdom and, like the prophets of old, He called on the people and the priests to repent of your sin.
The people had fallen into apostasy and sin, and the entire nation had to repent, collectively.
Despite the truth Christ taught and the warnings He gave, the Scribes and Pharisees finally went too far by committing the unforgivable sin - they blasphemed the Holy Spirit, by calling Christ the son of the Devil.
Some people today worry that they have committed the unforgivable sin.
They worry that they have said or done something that God will not forgive... and generally it is a sin that is personal to themselves.
But no-one who believes that Jesus died for their sin, was buried, and rose again the third day can ever commit this unpardonable sin against the Holy Spirit.
The former creation is dead in trespasses and sin.
The first creation lies in the evil one, is at enmity with God, and is enslaved by the law of sin and death... while the second creation is positioned in Christ.
The 'old man' refers to the unregenerate, sin nature, while the 'new man in Christ' refers to our new, born-again position as children of God in this Church dispensation.
Every member of humanity is born into the old creation, but only those who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins, are part of the new creation and become a member of the 'one new man in Christ'.
Today in this Church age, there is no Levitical system - no rituals to follow, no religious practices to perform, no compulsory feast day or other legal requirements in which to engage... all who believe God's Word and trust in His only begotten Son for the forgiveness of sins, are not only saved by God's grace and declared righteous before Him, but ALSO have become part of a new creation, where the OLD nature was crucified with Christ and we have received a NEW nature - Christ's own perfect nature - His own resurrected life.
Not only have we been declared righteous by faith but also we have been given the indwelling Spirit of life in Christ Jesus, which has set us free from enslavement to the old sin nature and freed us from the power of sin in our daily lives.
When the first creation failed due to Adam's sin, the Lord set in motion His pre-ordained plan for a new creation where the eternal Son of God would become the last Adam - through Whom all the families of the earth would be blessed.
He was the promised SEED of Abraham Who was preordained be born through Abraham, Isaac, and Israel - and through Him all the families of the earth have been blessed - and all who believe in His death, burial, and Resurrection for the forgiveness of sins and life everlasting, will be saved.
Paul is stressing the serious consequences that will befall all those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, for the lives of all who are not positioned in Christ are rooted and grounded in sin, Satan, lies, and deceit.
All who have trusted Christ for salvation have already had their sins judged at the Cross.
They do not follow the Way and obey the Truth but rather they go their own way, they disobey the truth, and in so doing they reject God's free offer of salvation; the forgiveness of sins and life everlasting.
They follow after unrighteousness instead of trusting in Christ - and sin is crouching at their door.
He blesses those who believe in Him with peace - peace with God through the forgiveness of sin and the peace of God that passes all human understanding - a peace that gives rests to our soul and stills our heart.
God, in His grace, not only removes the sin-barrier that estranges man from his Creator God, but He desires His people to rest in His love and to know His own precious peace deep within our hearts so that we may enjoy sweet fellowship with Him.The Lord has blessed us with every spiritual blessing, and all His promises to us are all 'yes' and 'amen' in Jesus Christ our Lord.
Before our salvation, we were dead in our sin and at enmity with God.
In this verse Peter lists a few of the dishonourable ways that cause a Christian to go through suffering and shame. Unrighteous deeds must be punished, and although the sins of every believer... past, present, and future, are forgiven at the Cross, there are serious consequences for Christians to face when we bring suffering upon ourselves, due to our own, foolish wrong-doings.
While David would no doubt be reflecting on the greatness of the God of Israel, who brought His people out of Egypt, carried them on eagles wings, through the desert, and brought them into a large and well-watered land, the sentiments that he is expressing are equally true for all who have trusted in Christ for the forgiveness of sin. Your lovingkindness, O LORD, extends to the heavens, is something we can equally proclaim.
Despite being defeated at the Cross, this wicked accuser of the saints has continued his unrelenting attack on the people of God - not only the Church but in particular, Israel and Judah, for it will only be when that chosen nation of God collectively repents of their sin and cries out, Blessed is He Who comes in the name of the Lord, that Christ can return to earth and finally destroy the works of the evil one.
Like the unchangeable law of the Medes and Persians, the perfect Law of God can never be broken - and the wages of sin is death.
But God, in His grace, had established a secondary Law that supersedes the Law of sin and death - the Law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus, our Lord.
It is the love of the Father-heart of God that sent His only begotten Son into the world to be the sacrifice for the sin of humanity - so that whosoever believes on HIM would not perish, but have everlasting life.
It was the love that streamed from the Father-heart of God for a fallen race of sinners, that caused Him to give His only begotten Son of His love to be wounded for our transgressions, bruised for our iniquities, and to die for our sin so that we might live and be clothed in His righteousness.
And it is by the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ that we have been saved... for He set aside His glorious majesty to become one of us and to take upon His sinless body the punishment that we deserve for the sin we have committed.
It is by the marvellous grace of our great and loving Kinsman-Redeemer that our sins are forever forgiven.
Paul had learned that the intent of the fallen sin nature of man is unreliable and selfish and he determined to neither recognise nor regard any person from an outward, human viewpoint.
God knows the end from the beginning and in His omniscience, God knows all who will one day exercise their God-given free-will and choose to believe on the only begotten Son of God for the salvation of their soul, the forgiveness of sins, and life everlasting.
The Father gives to the Son all who choose to place their trust in Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sin and life everlasting.
Although no-one would come to salvation except the Spirit draws them, ALL who choose to believe in Christ, when convicted by the Holy Spirit of sin, righteousness, and judgement, become part of that Body of believers that are given by the Father to the Son.
How shocking it appears that the Redeemer of the world forbade His disciples to tell the good news of the kingdom of heaven to Gentiles that were lost in their sin and outside the sheepfold of Israel!
Well, Israel had to repent of THEIR sin first.
God's chosen people were to turn from their sins and believe that Jesus was the Messiah, the Son of the living God FIRST.
God's chosen people, who had become so apostate over the centuries, were to repent of their sin, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, crown Him as King, and then be a light to the Gentiles and Samaritans, by proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom throughout the world.
Today, the Church is proclaiming the 'gospel of the grace of God' to unsaved Jew and Gentile alike, until the WHOLE nation of Israel repents of their sin and believes on the Lord Jesus Christ – and THEN the 'gospel of the kingdom' will be preached throughout the world, and Christ will return to set up His kingdom, as King of kings and Lord of lords.
In past centuries, God had cared for His people, forgave their sin, and showed them compassion and tender-mercy, despite their gross and ungodly behaviour.
The eternal, uncreated Son of God, Creator of heaven and earth, and second Person of the Triune Godhead Who upholds all things by the omnipotent power of His mighty hand, was to come to earth and to be born as a little tiny, vulnerable baby boy, in a prepared human body that was free from sin.
It was considered, by the Jewish leaders, to be a punishment because of a person's sin.
The significance of this passage is enhanced when we realise that 'leprosy' was frequently considered as an archetype of sin.
How similar the diseased body of this leper is to the hopeless state of the fallen sinner who is dead in their sins and estranged from their God and Creator.
And what an awesome exchange is made when a lost sinner believes on the Lord Jesus Christ and is redeemed from the slave-market of sin and transferred from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of God's everlasting light.
It is only the soul who, through the Spirit's convicting work, is bereft of its own self-importance and which is smitten in genuine repentance of sin, that can offer the sacrifice of a broken and contrite spirit, which is so acceptable and pleasing to the heart of God.
David knew his own broken fellowship with the Lord was the result of his own sin.
It is only through Him that God's mercy, forgiveness, kindness and grace will wash away every scarlet-stain that clings to our sin-encrusted soul, when offered in brokenness of heart and true contriteness of spirit.
This verse not only refers to our initial justification, where the manifold sins of an unsaved man or woman are forgiven.
It also refers to the crushing weight of a believer's post-salvation sins.
Our union with our God can never be broken, but our fellowship with Him and our daily communion can be severed when the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life causes us to stray from the path of righteousness into the destructive dead-end of sin.
Unlike David, Church-age believers need never be concerned that the Holy Spirit will be taken from us, for He took up permanent residence in our heart the moment we trusted Christ for salvation and He will NEVER leave us nor forsake us, even when we sin.
When David recognised his own lustful sin, he offered his own sacrifice of a broken spirit and a contrite heart, and like David, we know that God will not despise such an acceptable sacrifice.
Matthew lets us know that John the Baptist was reluctant to baptise the Lord Jesus - because John's baptism was a baptism unto repentance, while Christ was without sin.
He was the perfect, sinless, Lamb of God Who would take away the sin of the world. Matthew explains that Christ's baptism was in fulfilment of a Levitical requirement.
John's ministry was well known, for people throughout Judea were flocking to the river Jordan to come back, in faith, to the God of their fathers, confessing their sins, and undergoing his baptism of repentance.
Whatever Christ's baptism signified - whether it was His identification with sinners for whom He was to be the substitute, an act of obedience to His Father in order to fulfil the righteous requirements of the Law, a presentation of Himself as the Messiah of Israel and Lamb of God Who takes away the sin of the world, an act of dedication to His God and Father, or simply a picture of His forthcoming death and Resurrection - we know that in the days of John the Baptist's ministry - Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee, and was baptised by John in the Jordan.
The Bible reminds us that God is manifested through a concrete act - the gift of Christ as our sin-substitute: God so loved the world that He gave His unique and incomparable Son, so that whosoever believes on Him would not perish but have everlasting life.
God is the source of all love, and herein is love: Not that we loved Him but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. And we who have become part of His family by faith, are obligated to love as Christ loved us and to give our lives in sacrificial service for the benefit of others and to the glory of God.
Paul never forgot his Damascus Road experience and how he had been rescued from slavery to sin and the domain of Satan.
he might find forgiveness of sin and life everlasting.
W hen Paul realised the depth of his sin and the grace of God that was offered to him - he desired to live his life as a living sacrifice unto the Lord.
Christ was uniquely qualified to apply this glorious prophecy to Himself, for He had indeed been anointed of God to bring good news to the afflicted, to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to those that were captive to sin, and freedom to those that were enslaved by Satan.
It was JESUS, Who having by himself purged our sins - sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high.
The wrath of God will be poured out on a God-hating, Christ-rejecting, sinful world during a succession of judgement, described in the following chapters of this book of Revelation, but the wrath of God for your sins and mine has already been poured out on Jesus our sin-substitute, Who died in our place and is risen - and behold He is alive for evermore.
Eliphaz concluded that Job must have sinned and was being punished for his sin.
While couching his accusation in flowery language, Eliphaz was basically telling Job that the reason for his downfall was due to unconfessed sin in his life.
While the unconfessed sin of a believer will always break fellowship with the Lord and all sin has consequences, it should never be assumed that a man's sin is the cause for the trials he is facing.
Trials are not necessarily linked with personal sin, which is why the Lord Jesus warned us not to judge others.
Eliphaz argued that Job would not make such a detailed defence of himself if he were innocent of sin.
Whether directly or indirectly, Eliphaz accused Job of being guilty of sin, and he believed that God was punishing his sinfulness.
But accusing Job of being punished for sin was an indirect accusation against GOD's goodness!
He reasoned that Job would not complain in this way unless he was in some way guilty of some sin, that his guilty conscience was the root of his suffering.
Job did not sin against God.
Eliphaz and his friend lacked understanding and linking Job's misfortune to his sin was a slur against the Lord, Who sends the warming sunshine and the refreshing rain on both the wicked and the saved - while Satan alone is the instigator of all that is evil that befalls all men.
a simple childlike trust in the Lord Jesus which gave birth to the salvation of the soul for the forgiveness of sins, life everlasting and spiritual growth.
He had the power to heal their every hurt and forgive their every sin.
But instead they remained dead in their trespasses and sins, at enmity with God and under eternal condemnation - because they did not believe in the only begotten Son of God.
He mentioned judgement, but he did not talk about sin nor the need for salvation.
He talked of man's relationship with God as His children, which was something that these idolators related to, but he did not mention that we were dead in our trespasses and sin which has estranged us from the living God until by faith we are born again into His family.
Paul described the Man Whom God had appointed to judge the world, but he did not mention the name of Jesus Who died to pay the penalty for sin and Who would save them by grace through faith in His finished work at Calvary.
He talked of the resurrection from the dead but omitted to tell them of Christ sacrificial work on the Cross as part of God's redemption plan for mankind, the forgiveness of sin.
There IS an urgency in the message that Paul delivered to the Athenians, for the day IS coming when Christ will judge the world in righteousness, but the world needs to know the truth of the gospel of grace - that Christ died for our sins, was buried, and was raised from the dead so that all who believe on Him would not perish but have everlasting life.
Judgement is coming but those who have trusted in Christ as Saviour have already had their sins judged at the Cross, but those who have rejected His free offer of salvation will have to stand before Him as condemned sinners.
It was after his stay in Athens that we discover Paul reaching a decision to preach nothing but Christ - and Him crucified. How important that we also tell unbelievers, who are spiritually dead, that sin has separated them from God and that the wages of sin is death.
How critical to let them know that there is forgiveness of sins and life everlasting for all who trust in the name of Jesus - Who died and rose again from the dead, on our behalf.
How important to preach the word of truth and tell all who are dead in their trespasses and sins that God did not send His Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world through Him might be saved..
The multitudes had just been miraculously fed with multiplied bread and fishes, but they were blinded to the reality of His ministry as the Lamb of God Who takes away the sin of the world.
And as the day of His crucifixion drew ever closer (when He would offer Himself up as Israel's Passover Lamb and the Sin-Sacrifice for the whole world), Jesus began to prepare His little band of faithful disciples for the reality of His God-ordained mission.
He came to save His people, Israel, from their sin.
The time had arrived when the eternal Son of the Father - the sinless Son of Man, would be sacrificed for the sin of the world and made cursed by God... made sin for us by taking upon Himself the accumulated filth of the world - so that ALL who looked to HIM might be saved.
They need to be men and women who hunger and thirst after righteousness, mourn over sin, show mercy to others, and are gentle and kind.
He took the punishment for our sin on the Cross so that all who believe on Him would not be condemned by the Law, but be declared righteous in the sight of God.
Christ identified with our sin and took the punishment that we deserve, so that we might identify with His righteousness, by faith..
and not only be forgiven of our sin, but also receive in our body His very life.
For as by one man (Adam), sin entered the world and death gained access because of sin - so also by one MAN..(Jesus) the price of sin has been paid.
Christ, the sacrificial Lamb of God paid the price for sin - so that His righteous - His eternal resurrected life could become the present and eternal possession of all who trust in Him..
Jesus took on human flesh, was born into the human race and lived amongst us, being tempted just as we are, yet without sin.
The wages of sin are death but the perfect Son of Man lived a sinless life..
BUT God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son to become the sin-substitute for the world and the Lord Jesus willingly gave up His own life in order to become the perfect sacrifice and the one acceptable ransom price for the sin of the whole world.
To glorify His Father He willingly took OUR sin upon Himself and became the prey of death.
His death became our death and the price for our sin was paid in full.
But His resurrected, eternal life became our eternally resurrected life - for just as He identified with our sin and died on our account - so we by grace through faith are identified with His life. We died and were buried with Him through baptism into Him death..
The price of sin has been paid and death no longer has power in our life... for we are one with Christ forever and ever..
Simeon was a righteous man who had been promised by God that he would not die before he had seen with his own eyes the promised Hope of Israel, the appointed Messiah Who would save His people from their sin.
Although we should not compromise the glorious gospel of salvation: That Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, was buried and rose again, according to the Scriptures, there are certain minor issues that can cause disunity and disagreement between believers.
He is the infinite God in the flesh, the Creator of the universe, born into the human race - fully God but also fully man, yet without sin.
He visited the world that He Himself created, clothing Himself in human flesh, yet without sin.
But through His obedience to suffer and die for the sins of the world, God has highly exulted Him and given Him a name that is above every name: That at that name of Jesus every knee should bow.
And so the Son of God as Son of Man became higher in rank than the angels He created, just as the name He inherited is superior to theirs for He was given the name Jesus: The Lord is my salvation - for He shall save His people from their sins.
Our sins were judged at the Cross (past) and our works will one day be tried by fire at the Bema Seat of Christ (future), but during our present time on earth, we are being 'judged' by an unbelieving generation, and the sufferings we undergo are for Christ's dear name's sake.
The leaves of a fig tree were not sufficient to make atonement for his sin.
Only the blood of an innocent animal could cover sin until the Seed of the woman would redeem mankind from sin, Satan, death, and hell - through the shedding of His own blood.
They were told what to sacrifice, where to kill it, how it was to be done, and who was to spill the blood that would cover their sin for a limited period, until the true Sin-Sacrifice would come - as the full and final offering for the sin of the world.
Atonement is God's gift to man and atonement for sin is in the blood alone.
Atonement for sin is found in nothing but the spilt blood of the correct sacrifice, as commanded by God Who is the Giver of ALL life.
Atonement does not come by the shedding of the blood PLUS something else, for without the shedding of blood there is NO remission of sin.
Atonement for sin and the gift of life that accompanies it, comes through God's acceptance of the shed blood of the correct sacrifice, as written in God's Word.
FAITH in the shed blood of Christ, for there is salvation in none other than Christ, the crucified Lamb of God Who shed His own blood for the sin of the whole world.
He made peace with God on our account, by the offering of Himself on the Cross - and the blood of Jesus cleanses us from all sin.
They wanted a warrior-king who would destroy their Roman oppressors in preference to One Who could read the thoughts of their hearts, exposed their sin, and called them to repent of their apostasy and faithlessness.
We are also exhorted to rejoice with exceeding great joy, for the position, privileges, and promises that are ours in Christ, but Paul is equally keen that we never forget the depths of depravity and sin from which we have been rescued.
We have been washed of our filthiness, forgiven of our sin, and will one day walk in white.
We have an inheritance reserved for us in heaven and have been sealed by the Spirit of God Who permanently indwells our mortal bodies - and the law of the Spirit of life has set us free from the law of sin and death.
There are those that delude themselves into thinking that God does not know the carnal desires of their hearts or the ungodly imaginations that are carried out in the shadows of their mind - but Paul makes it very clear that God is not mocked by our ungodly ways and secret sins.
Through His shed lifeblood, our pardon for sin was secured and sealed, and life-everlasting was the gracious gift that we received - and all we had to do was to believe on His name.
He was prepared to stand falsely accused and unjustly condemned to death, knowing that the sacrifice of His perfect sinless life was the only way that sinners who were justly condemned and deserved God's wrath could be pardoned, forgiven, and receive the remission of sins.
For His sacrifice was the propitiation for all sin - God was satisfied with Christ's sacrifice on our account.
We were guilty, lost, and dead in our sins and at enmity with God, and He was blameless and innocent and had enjoyed the glories of heaven from eternity past - and yet He was willing to be stripped of His glory.
He received cruel stripes, humiliation, and death so that we might be forgiven of our sin by faith in Him and be redeemed from eternal separation from our Creator.
His sacrifice freed us from having to pay the required death-penalty for our sin, and it also released us from enslavement to Satan, sin, and death.
When Christ was lifted up on the Cross, He was made sin for us, by receiving the full weight of God's wrath against sin on our behalf so that by faith in His sacrificial death and glorious Resurrection, we might be made the righteousness of God in Him - through time and into eternity.
He bore our sorrow and on our account, He had the full fury of God's wrath against sin poured out upon HIM as He hung on that Cross, 2000 years ago.
He went to celebrate the Passover as was the custom of the Jews, but little did His fellow countryman know that He Himself was the true Passover Lamb Who would take away the sin of the world, by the sacrifice of His own atoning blood.
The Jews had been waiting for many centuries for this Man Who would save His people from their sin.
He would accomplish man's salvation by returning to the same holy City of God, only three years later, to walk the Calvary Road and be punished for the accumulated sin of the whole world.
The whole nation had made a covenant with God at Sinai and so the whole nation must repent of its sins.
The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through faith in the death, burial, and Resurrection of His only begotten Son.
Although it was partially fulfilled on the day of Pentecost when many men of Israel repented of their sins and believed on the Lord Jesus Christ, the full and final fulfilment of Joel's prophecy, which begins with a day of thick darkness and progresses into the glories of the Millennial Kingdom of Christ, will take place at the end of Daniel's 70th week i.e.
The continued grace and mercy of God can be seen in His divine appeal to the people of Judah to repent of their sins and return to the Lord - for we read: Even now, declares the LORD, return to Me with all your heart, and with fasting, weeping and mourning.
Both for the nation of Israel and for unsaved Gentiles alike, the precious truth of this passage is that it is never too late for sinners or backsliders to turn away from their sins, to return to the Lord with all their heart, and to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ for forgiveness and salvation.
It is a beautiful demonstration that the goodness, grace, and mercy of our long-suffering God, remains open to ALL who will simply trust in His Word, remember His goodness, genuinely return to Him with heart and soul - and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins and life everlasting.
The good Shepherd of the sheep is the One Who searched us out first and convicted our heart of sin, of righteousness, and of judgement.
When we were hopelessly lost to His love and dead in our trespasses and sins, it was God, Himself Who searched us out and found us... for we formerly walked according to the course of this world and lived according to the prince of the power of the air - who is the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience.
Those of us who have been saved by grace through faith in Christ, are able to testify with David that we also sought the Lord for the forgiveness of sin and He graciously delivered us out of the hands of the enemy - triumphing over sin and death and redeeming our life from the pit.
In God's divine plan, His eternal Son was to become a full member of the human race, for only a perfect and sinless man could act as intermediary between an offended God Who is angered by sin and sinful humanity, which results in man being eternally separated from a holy God - and it is all a result of SIN.
No member of humanity's fallen race could ever approach a righteous God, for all are born in sin.
The shedding of His own sinless blood was the price that God demanded as payment for man's sin.
His sinless life alone would satisfy as payment for the full weight of the sin of the world.
And then He had to live a sinless life and die a sacrificial death, in order to fulfil all the righteous requirements of God's holy law and satisfy God's anger against sin.
He was tempted in all things just like we are - yet without sin. 1) He fulfilled all the righteous requirements of the Law which equipped Him to be man's merciful and faithful High Priest. 2) He fulfilled all the righteous requirements of the Law in our place so that by faith, we are no longer under the curse of the Law but under the protection of His blood.
Jesus was not made like an angel, for the angels that sinned cannot be redeemed from their sins by faith.
He had to be made like us so that He might become a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God, which was to die for our sin and take the punishment that we deserve.
He was to be made sin for us so that we who believe in Him might be saved and forgiven.
He was to take the punishment that we deserve and become the propitiation for our sins.
He was to break the power of sin and death in the lives of all who trust in Him for salvation by rising from the dead and becoming the federal head of a new creation of man - even for those who believe on His name.
In God's divine plan, His eternal Son was to become a full member of the human race in order to make propitiation for the sins of the people who would believe in Him, by faith.
But the Lord Jesus also was given to the world to die for the sin of the whole world so that all who believe on His name might be sanctified and set apart unto God.
He was crucified on a cruel cross to make purification for the sins of the whole world so that whosoever will may come to Him for everlasting life, everlasting light, everlasting hope, everlasting peace, everlasting joy, everlasting salvation.
Jesus did all this so that You and I might receive forgiveness of sins by believing on the Name of the only begotten Son of God – the Son Who is the radiance of God's glory and the exact expression of His nature Who is sustaining all things by His powerful WORD and Who has made purification for your sins and mine.
And so, we are urged by Peter to live in peace with one another, to walk in spirit and in truth, and to share the good news of the gospel of grace with those that are dead in their sins.
They believed as the angel of death passed over their homes whose lintels were smeared with blood - and they praised God, because the blood of the lamb atoned for their sin.
Just as Israel were saved from Egypt, so we are saved from the slave-market of sin, but are warned to take care and not follow in the footsteps of those who, after being freed from Egyptian bondage, started to murmur against God and fell from grace, living the rest of their lives in failure. Redeemed but defeated.
We have not only been saved from the penalty of sin (c.f.
Egypt) but also from the power of sin in our lives.
We are exhorted to have clean hands and a pure heart, and we are to be people who hate evil and grieve over sin, so that we can receive His gracious comfort and be a channel of God's solace to others.
Pilate was right to be curious about Christ's claims to be King of the Jews, for He was the Messiah, promised by God, Who would save His people from their sins.
He was the Blessed Hope, Who came to redeem mankind from the tyranny of sin.
Jesus did not only come as the Passover Lamb for the Jews and the compulsory Sin Offering for the whole world, to fulfil the will of His Heavenly Father.
He is the King of Peace Who is coming to smash and crush forever, the corrupt kingdoms of this world system, and restore righteousness and hope to a world that is drowning in sin.
Jesus was born to be the sacrifice for the sin of the whole world, and every step He took in life brought Him closer to the Cross.
He came to set up the kingdom of heaven on earth, but He knew that He would be rejected and pay the price for the sin of the world on a cruel, Roman cross, and His chosen people, Israel, would have to be set aside for a season.
Jesus had to deal with the sin of His people before setting up His kingdom on earth.
Christ's ministry was popular with the people because they were fascinated by His wisdom, His words, His miracles, and His healings, but they were deaf and disinterested in the truth that sinful man needs a Saviour and that only faith in His death and Resurrection as payment for our sin, is acceptable to God the Father.
Such people are blinded by Satan, the god of this world, and remain dead in their trespasses and sins.
The Lord Jesus came, as promised, to be the sacrifice for man's sin.
And although He appeared at God's appointed time as the sacrifice for the sin of the whole world, only those who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ are identified with Him, through the forgiveness of their sins; only they receive eternal life; only they are equipped by the Holy Spirit to live godly in this evil age.
It is only as we dress ourselves in Christ and cover ourselves spiritually in the Lord, day by day and moment by moment, that we will we be enabled to make no provision for the evil cravings of our physical nature - for only as we are clothed in Christ can the power of sin and death be defeated in the life of a Christian.
The Law was a schoolmaster to bring us to Christ, for only in Him is there forgiveness of sins, and only in Him can the free gift of eternal life be realised.
His death became our death - death to the power of sin in our lives and death to the curse of the Law over our life.
Similarly, the Law teaches, the Law protects, the Law disciplines, and the Law regulates, but the Law cannot make a sinner righteous - it can only identify our sins and point us to the Source of our salvation.
But the Law has now achieved its purpose which is to convict a sinner of his sin.
At His First Coming, He came as the sacrificial Lamb of God Who takes away the sin of the world by His death on the Cross and His Resurrection from the grave.
But Paul tells us, all Israel will be saved, when they repent of their sin, return to the God of their fathers, and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ - which they will do as a nation at the end of the Tribulation period (the time of Jacob’s Trouble - that future time of great distress).But truly blessed, without measure, is the man, the woman, the people – the nation whose God is the LORD.
Even though the nation had been led into apostasy by false gods and were being punished by the God of heaven and earth for their sins, this remnant of Judah confessed that He alone is the only true and living God, and when His plans and purposes are completed, He will be glorified for ever and ever.
Nehemiah had wept over this sad state of affairs of Jerusalem, repented of Israel's past sins, and beseeched God to intervene for His holy name's sake.
They scorned the many prophetic warnings of approaching judgement and refused to repent of their sin and return to the Lord.
He felt constrained to teach and preach the good news that Christ died for our sin, was buried, and rose again on the third day, so that by faith in Him, we could be forgiven of our sin and receive eternal life as a free gift of God's amazing grace.
The gospel he preached had everything to do with Christ's sacrificial offering of Himself as payment for man's sin, and the supernatural power to live a victorious life, in Christ - which came through the indwelling Holy Spirit.
He was instructed to teach that by faith we may receive forgiveness of sins and receive a share among those who are sanctified by faith in Him.
Because of his one offense, all his offspring are born in sin, and that single transgression separated every one of Adam's descendants from fellowship with God and sentenced each one of us to death.
While humanity's collective condemnation resulted from one man's sinful disobedience, God in His grace designed a glorious plan of salvation whereby one single act of obedience, carried out by the one sinless Man, would not only bring justification to those who believe in Him and the forgiveness of their sin, but so much more!
Some people feel aggrieved that we should have to be identified with Adam's sin and be labelled 'a sinner' because of his transgressions.
But when you consider the plan of salvation that God has designed, we can only wonder at His goodness and grace in sending Jesus, His only begotten Son, to pay the price for the sin of the world so that whoever will trust in His name is identified with HIM and declared righteous through faith in Him.
Adam's sin caused death to reign over the human race, and there is nothing that we can do to get back into fellowship with God.
We are born in sin, by nature we sin, and we all fall short of God's glory.
And because of the sin of one man, every one of us is under God's condemnation with no escape from the consequences of our sin.
Sin and death may have come upon the whole human race through ONE act of sin which placed the whole of mankind under God's condemnation, but God in His grace provided salvation for the human race through ONE act of righteousness; Christ's death, burial, and Resurrection from the dead (so that whosoever believes on His name would not be condemned and perish, but would be forgiven and receive eternal life).
Just as we were imputed with Adam's sin-nature when we were born into the old creation, so we are imputed with Christ's righteousness through rebirth into the New Creation.
Faith in Him not only provides those who believe with the forgiveness of sin, but He gives us so much more.
The Lord Jesus triumphed over sin, Satan, death, and hell, in order to demonstrate God's manifold wisdom, might, majesty, dominion, glory, and grace to the angelic hosts.
They discovered that in addition to our position in Christ and the forgiveness of sins, we have been blessed with every spiritual blessing in Christ.
But in this verse, we hear an echo of John's prophetic words: This is the sacrificial lamb of God, Who takes away the sin of the world.
Ever since the exodus from Egypt, innocent lambs were sacrificed to make atonement for the sins of man.
Man's sins however, were only covered until the promised Messiah would arrive on the scene, and prophets, priests, and kings foretold of the coming Good Shepherd of Israel Who would also become the sacrificial offering for the sin of the whole world.
In the past, it was an innocent little lamb who died as a temporary covering for man's guilty sin, but here we read that it is the innocent Shepherd (God incarnate) Who lay down His sinless life for the lost and guilty sheep of the house of Israel - and not for them only, but for all lost and guilty sinners who will trust in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
Sin has its inevitable consequences, and the result of Adam's sin was death, separation from God, and a curse of hard labour for both the man and the woman during their life-struggle on earth.
But before the Lord pronounced his judgement on Adam and Eve and explained the long-term consequences of their wretched sin and disobedience, God spoke to the serpent who is called the devil and Satan, and who deceives the whole world.
In the middle of God righteous sentence on sin, was nestled a gracious provision for mankind, which would secure salvation for Adam's fallen race through a sin-substitute.
One result of their sin would be a perpetual struggle between the satanic forces and mankind until its final completion, and Christ becomes all in all.
Satan and sin was defeated at the Cross by the death of Christ and His shed blood.
Two thousand years ago the promised Seed of the woman crushed the head of the serpent and defeated man's bitter enemy at the Cross, where His heel was bruised on account of our iniquity and sin.
BUT His blood cleanses sin for all who believe in Christ as Saviour.
Nor can he achieve His purpose in our life if we are proud or seeking our own glory, for anxiety, disobedience, fear, pride, and vainglory all emanate from our old sin nature.
The pointless reasoning and silly speculations of these ungodly men and profane women, allow their foolish hearts to become corrupted by Satan and darkened by sin.
During Christ's present, High Priestly ministry in heaven, the Church have been entrusted to be lights in this dark world of sin: Ye are the light of the world, Jesus told us, and as His representatives on earth we are to shine for Him.
From the fall of the first man, Adam, who rebelled against God and whose sin caused destruction to reign upon the earth (as the icy fingers of death began to be wrapped around the throat of every man), to the coming of the prophesied Messiah; the perfect Man Who came to save His people from their sin and graciously gives the water of life freely to whosoever will come and drink.
Hundreds more are waiting to be brought to completion with the Rapture of the Church, the Great Tribulation, the return of Christ Jesus to set up His Millennial Kingdom on earth reigning as King of kings and Lord of lords, and the making of a new heaven and a new earth where sin and death are gone forever.
Knowing the value of Scripture, the Psalmist has wisely hidden God's Word deep within in his heart, meditating upon it day and night - that he might not sin against the Lord.
And Scripture unfolds God's amazing, redemptive plan to save His people from their sin.
Indeed, it is the Bible that reveals to us that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God, and that by believing on Him we may have life - for He is the Word made flesh, in Whom has the Words of eternal life - and He willingly became the sacrifice for our sin.
It is about the terrible outcome of sin, the shocking consequences of rebellion, and the great grace our God and Father demonstrates to all who will call upon His name.
It is about the need to recognise sin and repent of our faults, and it is about being ready and willing to be used by God, no matter what the consequences.
The story of Deborah, the judge of Israel, is about looking to God and Jesus Christ, Whom He has sent to be the propitiation for our sins.
Indeed everyone who has been saved by grace through faith in the death, burial and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ, for the forgiveness of their sins and life everlasting is part of that elect group - we are all a member of that special group that God in His omniscient foreknowledge knew.
God sent His Son to pay the price for our sin.
Christ Jesus was born into the human race to be our sin-substitute - but He also gave each man and women a freewill to choose to accept or to reject His offer of salvation - to either 1) believe in the death, burial and resurrection of Christ or 2) to refuse to believe in this free gift of grace.
Instead they would remain dead in their sins and under eternal condemnation!
He knew from before the beginning of the world who would be saved by grace through faith in the Lord Jesus as their sin-substitute and - and He called us His 'elect' -
The Bible tells us that the most high God does not dwell in houses made by human hand, for heaven is His throne and the earth is His footstool, and yet the most wonderful news is that God makes His home in the heart of all who come to Christ for salvation: the forgiveness of sin and life everlasting.
We were bought at enormous cost; the precious blood of Jesus Christ on Calvary's Cross was the payment for our sins - and from that point onwards, our body became a temple for God.
Paul particularly draws attention to sexual sins: Flee from sexual immorality, is his forceful warning, for every sin that a man does is outside the body but he that commits sexual immorality sins against his own body.
Let us flee from all sorts of sins that desecrate our bodies and live our lives as unto the Lord for we are a chosen, royal, and holy people for God's own possession, that we may proclaim the excellence of Him Who called us out of darkness into His marvellous light.
The grace of God appeared on earth in the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ, for He is the power of God and the wisdom of God, and through Him alone was salvation brought to all men (for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God - and the wages of sin is death but the gift of God's grace is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord Who appeared in Person, bringing salvation to ALL men).
Grace is not only God's unmerited kindness and favour that is poured out in liberal abundance on those who do not deserve it, it is also God's unfathomable mercy that does not punish fallen man what we truly deserve - for Christ was made sin in our place.
God is no respecter of persons and the joy and peace in believing in Christ for the forgiveness of sin and life everlasting is for Jew and Gentile alike.
Neither the ravages of the old sin nature nor the temptations of the enemy who seeks our destruction, can separate us from the love of God or remove the hope that is ours, in Christ Jesus our Lord.Paul’s dear desire for the Body of Christ is translated into the most beautiful, intercessory prayer: Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Did Enoch sin during those 300 years when he walked with God?
But like us, if he confessed his sin, God was faithful and just to forgive him his sin and cleanse him from all unrighteousness - for God is the same yesterday, today, and forever.
Christ died to pay the price for our sin, but His Resurrection from the dead is equally staggering.
It was by His Resurrection that He broke the inescapable power of death and hell, guaranteeing eternal life to all who would believe on His name - on all who would believe that His death was the sacrifice for their sin and His resurrected life became our eternally resurrected life.
How can a fallen, physical being who is under the curse of sin, be reconciled to a holy, spiritual God Who cannot permit sin into His presence?
Although God's creative world was beautiful, it was cursed because of sin.
We are identified with Adam's fall, imputed with his sin-nature, and must face sin's terrible consequences.
Despite the sin of the first man, God determined in His heart to redeem the human race, by sending a Second Man and imputing His righteousness on all who would believe on His name for the forgiveness of their sin.
God, in His grace and mercy, sent His only begotten Son from heaven as the perfect sacrifice for the sin of the whole world.
A fallen, fleshly, perishable, mortal frame that is imputed with sin, cannot inherit a righteous, spiritual, imperishable, eternal body.
But God's wonderful plan for man's redemption was such that the price for sin is made by faith in Christ's shed blood.
By grace, He identified with our sin so that we could be identified with His death.
By faith in Christ, we all face physical death... but have a sure knowledge that we will rise to life immortal in a resurrected body of flesh and bone like unto Christ's body... for flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable, but thanks be to God Who gives us the victory over Satan, sin, death, and hell through our risen Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.
Although the book of Revelation had yet to be written, numerous descriptions of the Day of the Lord are given in Old Testament Scriptures which tell of that terrible time when God's wrath will be poured out on a God-hating, Christ-rejecting sinful world: Let no one in any way deceive you, were Paul's heartening and encouraging words, for the Day of the Lord will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed. Paul goes on to say, He Who restrains will do so until He is taken out of the way.
2: the revealing of the man of sin.
And in a world where almost every semblance of righteousness has been removed, the man of sin will be revealed - that man of lawlessness who is the son of destruction, also known as the Antichrist.
Let us continue to deepen our knowledge and understanding of the Word of truth... and let us earnestly share a knowledge of that truth with those that are lost in their sins so that others may be snatched from the teeth of the enemy, before that great and terrible Day of the Lord - when seven years of God's wrath will be poured out on a Christ-rejecting world - and then the Day of the Lord will continue for a further 1000 years, during Christ's millennial reign on earth as He rules as King of kings and Lord of lords.
It was LOVE that caused the almighty God to send His only begotten Son into the world to become the sin-sacrifice for the entire race of humanity and it was love that caused the Lord Jesus Christ to lay down His life for us.
Mankind is crumpling under the weight of sin and collapsing under the satanic influence of evil, which is suffocating a world in distress, but the true character of the spiritual Christian is based on a godly love and stands in stark contrast with the evil hatred that reigns supreme over this fallen world system.
We cannot begin to imagine what it cost God the Father to turn His back on His only begotten Son and pour out the full force of His holy hatred of sin..
upon HIM. It was for love of us that God the Father poured out the full force of His holy wrath for the accumulated sin of the whole world, upon His innocent and dearly beloved Son - Whom He had loved from before the conception of the universe.
and then be made sin for you and for me.
The eternal Creator God demonstrated His love towards us in that while we were yet sinners He laid down His life for us and became a curse and a hissing - as the weight of the accumulated sin of the world was laid on His shoulders - and He did it for LOVE of you and for LOVE of me.
But for a time, He chose to lay aside the heavenly position that he had enjoyed with the Father for all eternity, and enter into His own creation as a member of the human race so that as Man, He could redeem the human race from their sin, and restore them into a right relationship with God, by faith.
It was on our account that Christ willingly set aside His heavenly position and His eternal glory so that by faith, we could be redeemed from slavery to sin and the penalty of death.
Christ is equal with God in Person, but He was willing to give up His heavenly position for a time because a race of fallen men needed to be redeemed - and there was no one else able to pay the price of sin for the lost and dying race of humanity.
He set aside His positional glory for your sake and for mine, to be born to die for our sins so that we might be reborn to live with Him in the glory that He enjoys with the Father, from all eternity.
He was the fore-runner of the Lord who urged God's chosen nation to repent of their sins for the kingdom of heaven was at hand.
But following Christ's sacrifice on the Cross of Calvary (where as Messiah He was Israel's Passover Lamb, and as Saviour He was the sin-sacrifice for the whole world), the Lord Jesus rose from the dead and commissioned His disciples to go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.
Then, their sins would be wiped out and the seasons of refreshing (that were promised to the nation of Israel by so many prophets of old), would finally come from the presence of the Lord.
How we praise our Heavenly Father for Calvary; that our sins are forgiven, that there is no more condemnation for those that are in Christ Jesus, that we have been placed in union with Christ, and accepted forever in the Beloved.
That call to righteousness and truth, godliness and grace, should be the earnest desire of all who have been saved from slavery to sin and Satan, and by grace have been transferred from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of God's dear Son.
How vital that we do not carry out our kind actions and considerate deeds from the source of our old sin nature, for when we do good works that are produced by ME, rather than by God working through me, they are works of the law - works of the flesh - works of the old sin nature - works that God will not accept, for God will not share His glory with ME.
The more the book of Romans unfolds, the greater our understanding of the amazing grace that God has demonstrated towards us: In that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. For He Who knew no sin, was made to be sin on our behalf so that in Him, we might become the righteousness of God, sons of God, and joint heirs with Christ.
Love seems to be both the guiding principle and pinnacle of the Christian life – for God is love. Indeed, it was love for the world that caused the Father to give His only begotten Son to die as our sin-substitute on the Cross, and it was love for the Church that held Jesus to the Cross, for He loved the Church so dearly that He gave Himself for her.
Paul not only took pains to explain that the Law could not save us, but identified it as a simple tool used by God to identify our need of a Saviour and thus bring fallen man to faith in Christ, our 'sin-substitute'.
They went against God's will for His people by living in a pagan land and even allowed their sons to marry Canaanite women - but how like some of God's people today, who flirt with the world and allow themselves to live in carnality and sin - and instead of trusting in His sufficient strength, they live a defeated, Christian life.
He came down to this world from above, and He came to redeem a race of lost sinners and to rescue a fallen creation from the destructive ravages of sin and Satan, darkness, disease, and death.
Before the Coronation Crown could be placed on His head, He had to shed His blood on Calvary's Cross, to pay the price for the sin of the world, and redeem the fallen race of man.
He came as a suffering Servant and our kinsman-Redeemer to defeat Satan and sin and death and hell, so that all who believe on HIM would not remain chained in Satan's snare and perish, but would be redeemed - bought and paid for with His blood.
He came to reclaim the earthly kingdom and reestablish Man's rule over the earth once more - but first, He had to pay the price for the sin of mankind.
First He had to defeat the world's corrupted kingdom of sin and Satan, darkness, disease, and death - through His own death at Calvary.
All humanity had been infected with sin, but God's redemptive plan was designed to circumnavigate the wiles of the devil, through a people of faith.
The Son of the most high God was to be given as the sacrifice for the sin of humanity.
Because of Adam's sin which caused all humanity to be infected with sin, He was to be the last Adam, the perfect Man, the federal head of God's new creation, and His name was to be called Wonderful, Counsellor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace.
A Messiah was to be born Who would save His people, Israel, from their sin.
Israel had been commanded to go into all the world and preach the gospel of peace to every creature, but the nation failed to obey the Lord and did not recognise Jesus as the prophesied Son of David Who would save His people from their sins, when He finally arrived.
They were warned that they would be thrown into a bed of great tribulation if they did not repent of their sins... they were warned that they should harken to this admonition.
Even to this day, certain denominations deny that the full and final payment for sin was made on Calvary's Cross.
The Jezebel spirit that permeated the infrastructure of this church, and continues to infect all who reject the truth of God for this lie of Satan, is the sin of rebellion.
Christ did indeed die for our sin, but Christ is alive and He is risen from the grave... and is seated on the right hand of the one and only Holy Father, on His glorious throne, in heavenly places.
Jesus had come to the lost sheep of the house of Israel to save His people from their sins, and for many centuries God's chosen people had been warned by prophets like Isaiah that sin had separated them from their God, and their rebellion was likened to wounds, bruises, and putrefying sores, with no soundness in them at all.
Indeed, man is so riddled with sin that there is no one who seeks after God.
We are all so filled with sin that unless God draws us, not one of us has the will or the strength to seek after the Lord.
But in His grace, He sent the Holy Spirit into the world to convict fallen man of sin, righteousness, and judgement and to draw sinful man into the saving arms of Jesus - and God gave man a free-will to believe on Him or reject His offer of salvation.
Mankind is so entrapped in slavery to sin that unless God draws us, no-one would be saved, but Christ Himself promised that when He was lifted up on the Cross, He would draw all men to Himself.
Christ is the Word of God, but those that heard Him proclaim five times that He had come down from heaven to feed their spiritual soul, which was riddled with sin, would not hear the truth and would not believe the truth, and so they missed the most glorious offer of salvation.
Today, the Holy Spirit continues to convict every man of sin and the written Word of God teaches the many spiritual truths that feed our hungry soul.
Christ fulfilled the righteousness of the Law, which qualified Him to pay the price for our sins on the Cross.
His death, burial, and Resurrection conquered sin and Satan.
His death, burial, and Resurrection broke the power of sin and death forever in the lives of all who would believe on His name.
He proved His authority on earth to forgive sins by saying to the paralyzed man: Arise, and take up thy bed and walk, and He proclaimed His authority in the Temple of God when He accused the rulers of Israel, with the blistering words: My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations, but you have made it a den of thieves.
The price for all the sins of the whole world collectively, which includes all the accumulated sin of every individual man and woman, was forgiven at Calvary.
You see, without His death on the Cross, our sins would not have been atoned for and we would remain unforgiven sinners, dead in our trespasses, and separated forever from a holy God.
OH, our sins would have been forgiven at Calvary, but without a RESURRECTED Saviour, without a LIVING Saviour, death and hell would not have been conquered and we could never have been given the new resurrected LIFE of Christ.
It was sin that placed the whole of God's creation under a terrible and eternal curse.
God in His omniscience KNEW that man would sin, and He planned a new creative work which would redeem the human race and bring forth a new CREATION-in-CHRIST.
The sacrificial death of the Lord Jesus on the Cross to pay the price for our sins, is a tiding of great joy.
When the Lord Jesus rose from the grave in His glorified, human body of flesh and bone, He triumphed over sin and Satan.
Down through the centuries, many have heard the glad tidings of great joy that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, that He died as our sin-substitute, was buried, and rose again according to the Scriptures, breaking the power of sin and death in the lives of all who believe in His name and becoming the First-Fruit of all who sleep.
The Cross of Christ most certainly paid the price for the sin of the whole world so that whosoever will may come.
None are excluded from the forgiveness that flowed from the veins of the Messiah, which paid the price for all sin.
The punishment for sin has been paid forever by the blood of Christ.
The penalty of sin was paid in full for every man that has ever breathed the air of God, and condemnation is removed forever from all who believe that Christ died for their sins and rose the third day.
God's required price for sin was paid in full for every man, and all who believe are not condemned.
But the blood of Christ has a secondary function for all who would believe in Him, for as well as the forgiveness of sins for every man, the power of sin was simultaneously broken in the lives of all who would one day trust in the only begotten Son of God, as Saviour.
It was at the time of Christ's crucifixion that the power of sin in the life of all who would one day believe in Him was broken.
BUT at the point in time that we trusted in Christ as Saviour and became born-again as a new creation in Christ, the power of sin in our life was severed as a practical reality.
we are not sinless for we still have an old sin nature, and if we say we have no sin we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us, but sin and death have no power over our new life in Christ - our new born-again life.
Paul goes on to write: But when this perishable puts on the imperishable, and this mortal puts on immortality, then will come about the saying that is written: 'Death has been swallowed up in victory.'It was because the deathless Son of God, Who has eternal life within Himself, became the perfect Son of Man and gave Himself as a willing sacrifice for the sin of the whole world, that He broke the power of sin and death in the life of ALL who trust in His name.
His death paid the price for sin, but His Resurrection broke the power of sin and death forever in all who believe, and together we will live with Him in glory.
Jews were to repent of their sin and believe on their Messiah, if they were to enter God's promised kingdom.
It is an acknowledgment that man's sin is the primary cause for the tragic condition of this fallen world, and sin is the disease that has infected every human heart.
It is those that weep for the wretched condition fallen man and of God's beautiful earth, which was cursed because of man's sin, who will receive the heavenly comfort offered by the Lord. It is the penitent sinner whose contrite heart laments over his own sins, and the sins of an entire world at enmity with God and under His eternal curse, who will be granted solace from the Lord, for He has promised to wipe away every tear from their eye and to comfort each one of them in their pain.
The unsaved sinner who is dead in their sin and at enmity with God can only be justified by faith in Christ.
A man's salvation is judged according to their FAITH in Christ's sacrificial death and glorious resurrection, as payment for their sin.
God's judgement rests on the pagan who practises sin and the self-righteous individual who passes judgement on the sin of others.
We sin because we are sinners.
We are born in sin and the offspring of sinners and we ALL need a Saviour.
May we take to heart the serious nature of sin and sinners and endeavour to walk in spirit and truth, and may we be ready to warn the lost of their need of Christ and share with them the good news of salvation.
God chose him to preach the gospel to Jew and Gentile alike, but he was particularly commissioned to minister the light of the glorious gospel of Christ to lost Gentiles who were dead in sin and at enmity with God.
Paul was also called by God to function as a priest of the gospel of God, bringing the gospel to those that were dead in their sins and at enmity with God enabling access into the throne-room of the Father which is by grace through faith in Christ alone.
However, before detailing the differences between justification, sanctification, propitiation, and a whole host of theological issues, Paul spends the best part of three chapters drumming home the truth - that man is a sinner, at enmity with God, and that the wages of sin is death - not only physical death, but eternal separation from God in the eternal lake of fire.
In order to reinforce the shocking consequences of sin, Paul used a sequence of quotations from the book of Psalms to strengthen his argument: No one is righteous... Paul proclaims, ...not even one.
The fear and reverence of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge and wisdom, and yet the fool denounces the Almighty God and treats the sacrifice of His beloved Son, to pay the price for man's sin, with contempt.
The fool has said in his heart, there is no God, and unbelief is the single sin which God can never forgive.
The wages of sin is death, but the gracious gift of our Heavenly Father is eternal life for all who will believe in His name: For as many as received Him, to them He gave the power to become sons of God - even to them that believe on His name.
Although he delivered a message of judgement to the people of Israel because of their ongoing rebellious idolatry, Micah also foretold of Israel's final restoration and the many blessings they would enjoy, once they repented of their national sin and returned to the God of their forefathers.
They were the nation whose God is the Lord, and through them was to be born the promised Messiah Who would save His people from their sins.
Despite the punishment for their sin, Micah records that Israel is also given a promise of blessing.
And although Micah was a prophet that wept and mourned for the sin of the nation and the coming destruction upon his people, he also was caused to rejoice that God would once again be the good Shepherd of Israel - Who would wipe away every tear from their eye.
But he tells of a future judgement of both Israel and the nations, when the wrath of God will be poured out on a God-hating, Christ-rejecting, sinful world, followed by great restoration for those that trust in the Lord, repent of their sins, and turn to Christ for the salvation of their soul.
Time is short and those who do not know the Lord would do well to seek Him with all their heart - while those who know the Lord should become increasingly active in sharing the gospel of salvation with all who are lost in their sins and without hope in the world.
He had to come to see that we are all sinners and that there is a price that has to be paid - not only for the sins we commit but also because we are born sinners with a sin nature that is inherently sinful.
For not only was sin imputed to the human race from the fall of Adam..
like us had to come to accept that we are all sinners and that every sin we commit must be punished.
And unless the price for sin is paid in full on our account.. we have no access to the kingdom of heaven and eternal life can never be earned by our own merit.
This pious, religious rabbi also had to be brought to the understanding that the sacrifice for sin could only be paid by God Himself, for He alone is holy and He alone is good enough to pay the price for sin.
God had to become a Man in order to die for all men for He had to be made sin on our account in order to become our kinsman-Redeemer and to pay the price for our sin.
on the cross, to pay the price for the sin of the world.
The people of Israel had sinned and plagues were ravaging the nation, but God instructed Moses to raise up a brass serpent on a pole to represent their sin - and it represented your sin, my sin and the sin of the whole world.
That serpent was an illustration of the One Who was to be made sin for us..
so that whoever looks to the Lord Jesus as the sacrificial offering for their sins, will be forgiven of their sins..
Jesus came to receive the punishment for the sin of the world so that whosever believes in Him would be redeemed - spirit, soul and body.
Jesus came to be the sin-sacrifice for all mankind..so that whoever believes in Him will have eternal life.
Some use this verse to teach that sickness is always the result of a specific sin, an attack of Satan, or a judgement from God, and that a prolonged illness identifies a serious lack of faith.
For God does not always answer our prayer for healing in the way we would expect, and illness is not always the direct result of personal sin.
Step by step, the book of Romans takes us from the depths of man's sin to the heights of man's salvation.
It is not so much the specific sins to which Paul is referring but the irrecoverable, fallen nature of our sinful humanity.
This sin of self-righteous superiority of the believer is equally if not more offensive to our Heavenly Father, for all have sinned and fallen short of the glory and perfection of God.
Those who are lost in their sin and blinded to the glorious gospel of grace, should ignite in our hearts a deep compassion, and not a supercilious, critical judgement on their sins.
Just as Christ was the One through Whom all things were made by His mighty power in the original creation, which was ruined through sin, so also that same Christ Jesus is the One through Whom the new creation is formed and made.
Life, we are told, is in the blood and it was His lifeblood that was shed for many for the remission of sins.
He became the sin-substitute for your sin, and my sin, and the sin of the whole world.
Should we still live in sin? No!
Rather, we should die to sin and live from this day forward not to ourselves, but unto Him.
Heaven was hushed, and time stood still as the only begotten Son of God, as the perfect Son of Man, paid the price for the sin of the world.Gracious forgiveness had been extended to whosoever would trust in His saving sacrifice, and a precious promise of paradise had been given to a lost sinner.
Loving provision had been extended to the woman who bore Him, and He carried the weight of the world on His heart as He became sin for mankind so that lost sinners could become the righteousness of God in Him.Every facet of the law had been fulfilled, every prophecy accomplished.
The price for sin had been paid, and communion with the Father restored.
This is a verse that rejoices our hearts, for this Throne of Grace is the eternal seat of the sovereign Lord of heaven and earth, Whose mercy-seat has covered our sins forever.
He is the God Whose plan of redemption dictated that ALL sin must be punished.
And by His grace, Jesus took upon Himself the sin of the world, so that we could be saved by grace.
Only through faith in Christ have we been justified, forgiven of sin, and covered in Christ's perfect righteousness.
We are not directed to enter in the throne-room of heaven in apprehensive timidity, but to approach His universal seat of divine power and majestic glory with great boldness and confident assurance of a child approaching his beloved father, knowing that the sacrificed Lamb of God, offered by the High Priest of God for our sin, is sufficient.
The daily sacrificial offerings, together with annual sacrifices of innocent lambs at Passover, and the annual Atonement sacrifices, where the blood was permitted to cover sin for one more year, were a dim and distant shadow of the one, perfect, sacrificial Lamb of God.
He was slain, once and for all, on the Cross of Calvary... to take away forever, the sin of the whole world.
The life-giving serpent that Moses lifted up on a pole in the wilderness... was simply a shadowy precursor of Christ being lifted up on the Cross for the forgiveness of sin... and His eternal, life-giving Resurrection.
Similarly, the Sabbath day ritual, which was guarded so jealously by the religious leaders of Israel, was simply a pale shadow of the Lord Jesus Christ Who Himself, has become the Sabbath rest for the people of God, and for all who trust in Him for the forgiveness of sins and life everlasting.
It was an unattainable requirement written on stone, which identified and accused everyone of sin - and stamped all humanity with the eternal condemnation of God - GUILTY SINNER!
He nailed our sin to the Cross: Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that kept us enslaved to the Law.
By faith in Christ, we are no longer enslaved to sin.
We are identified with His death so that His death became our death, and our sin is forgiven.
which results in a carnal walk, a fleshly lifestyle and a wasted life that is influenced by the old sin nature rather than being enlivened by the new life in Christ.
was Christ's cry of profound significance and ultimate joy, which must have resounded throughout the entire universe as the Lord Jesus pronounced His triumphant victory over sin, Satan, and death.
He came to be the propitiation for our sins.'Tetelestai' was a single Greek word which means paid in full.
This sixth word from the Cross was not Jesus announcing that He Himself was finished, but that the penalty for sin had been paid in full.
He came to pay the price for sin and to seek and to save all who would believe on His name, for He alone was God's acceptable ransom price for sin, and He alone could bear witness to God's truth.He came to do the will of His Father and to demonstrate God's incredible love to humanity, by being a light to the darkened world so that all who believe on His name would not abide in darkness but receive the glorious light of His abundant life.
The Lord Jesus not only saved us by His blood, but has delivered us from all condemnation... past, present, and future, because all our sin was imputed to Him.
He paid the price for all our sin on the Cross.
He died for our personal sin.
He exchanged our fallen sin nature with our new life in Christ.
He washed away the stain of sin with His own blood and imputed us with His own perfect righteousness.
He has not only forgiven us of all our sin, by taking the punishment we deserve upon Himself, but has imputed us with HIS own perfect righteousness.
After listing the superabundant privileges that are the right of all who are saved by grace through faith in Christ, Paul takes us back to the root of sin.
He reminds us that sin came into the world by Adam and explains that death entered the world because of sin.
And the wages of sin is death - both spiritual death and physical death - for death was passed on to every man when Adam sinned.
Because of sin every member of the human race is born spiritually dead and embarks on a journey towards physical death.
Death means separation from God - both spiritual and physical separation - and because of Adam's sin, every one of his progeny is imputed with a sin nature.
We do not become a sinner when we sin.
We sin because we are already a sinner.
We are all 'born in sin'.
We were born to parents who were also sinners, and we inherited the same sin nature.
Every member of the human race is born a sinner and although death claims the life of every descendent of Adam because of our imputed sin nature, it was not until the time of Moses that God gave man His perfect standard for living.
God gave Israel the Mosaic Law, so that fallen sinners could identify personal acts of sin.
The Law God gave through Moses is the benchmark for sin and the tool He uses to identify personal sin in our lives.
God gave the Law so that sinners could recognise we have broken God's perfect Law, confess our sin, and understand our need of a Saviour.
Before the Law of Moses, sin was in the world and the icy fingers of death claimed the life of every sinner.
However, before the Law, mans' personal sin was not imputed to individual sinners, for until the Law, sin was in the world, but sin is not imputed when there is no law.
God gave His chosen people the Law so that sin could be identified as sin, and God graciously provided sacrificial offerings so that atonement could be made for sin, through the shed blood of an innocent animal.
Atonement means 'covering', and animal sacrifices for sin meant sin could be covered until God sent His anointed Messiah Who would come to save His people from their sin and forgive them their iniquity - both the sin nature imputed from Adam - and personal sins.
They were entrusted to be a light to the Gentiles, so that pagans could also be justified by faith, and also be brought into the camp of Israel, and have their sins covered.
In Romans, Paul systematically lays out the shocking truth that everyman has to face... he is a sinner and, the wages of sin is death.
As Church age believers, we were not born before the Law when personal sin was not yet imputed to sinners, nor are we under the Law (like Israel)... BUT we are ALL sinners, under the universal curse of death.
Unlike Israel, the church does not have to offer sacrifices in the Temple or keep certain feast days so that our sin can be covered, because Christ IS our perfect sin offering.
His death on the Cross has dealt with ALL our sin - both our imputed sin nature - and our personal sins.
Before the Cross, men were sinners and death was the consequences of their sin nature, but God 'overlooked' their personal sin.
Before the Cross, those who believed His Word were justified by faith as they looked forward to their promised Saviour Who would redeem them from the slave-market of sin.
Before the Cross, Israel were equally sinners who needed to be justified by their faith in God's Word, and their sins were covered with the blood of innocent animal sacrifices, until their promised Messiah came to earth to save His people, by dying for them on the Cross.
They believed in God, but were also to believe in His only begotten Son - their Messiah, Who was the sacrificial Lamb of God Who takes away the sin of the world.
During this church age, we are also justified by God's grace and forgiven of all our sin - by faith.
We are living in the age of grace and believe that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that He was buried, that He was raised on the third day, according to the Scriptures.
He washed away the stain of sin with His own blood and imputed us His own perfect righteousness.
For instance, an understanding of the sacrifices in the pagan temples enabled Paul to teach them about the one true God, Whose perfect sacrifice on the Cross redeemed them from sin.
Paul did not want those who are saved by grace through faith in Jesus to be rescued from the slave-market of sin, only to live a defeated life in this world, and fail in the work that God has prepared for us to do.
They realised He was the Lamb of God Who would take away the sin of the world, and the Lion of the kingly tribe of Judah.
They would be sifted by the enemy because they had been rescued from the clutches of Satan - for the wages of their sin had been paid in full, by Christ and the curse that lay heavy on their heads, had been removed through His sacrificial work at Calvary.
All of us who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ will be despised, rejected, persecuted, and killed because of Christ Who came to pay the price for the sin of the world and gave His life as the ransom price for whoever would believe on His name - but how few have ears that really listen.
Although we might argue that our body is alive, we must never forget that as sinners, we are born spiritually dead in our sin, with a fallen sin nature that is estranged from God.
We must not forget that we inhabit a body that is subject to sin, disease, disintegration and death.
due to sin and our imputed sin nature..
But praise God that even: though the body is dying because of sin, the spirit is eternally alive because of righteousness - our once dead human spirit is alive by faith in Christ.
Christ knew that sinful man in his fallen state cannot be accepted into the spiritual realm of a holy God unless he becomes as perfect as God and as holy as the Father in heaven is holy, which is only possible if he is forgiven of his sins, accepted in Christ, and covered with the garment of Christ's perfect righteousness.
But the depth of meaning behind His words: I thirst, must never be overlooked.Christ was the Lamb of God Who had paid the full price for the sin of mankind so that the full measure of God's wrath submerged Him in all but one part of the Law which had not yet been fulfilled.
If even one part of the Law was left unfulfilled, Christ's perfect life and substitutional death could have become the topic of philosophical debate.All the legal requirements that were listed in the Mosaic Law with regard to the Passover Lamb, the sin offering, His high priestly office, and His genealogical heritage had been fulfilled to the letter, and many hundreds of additional prophecies in connection with His Person and Mission had already been fulfilled in minute detail.
For three long dark hours, the wrath of God had been poured out in full measure on the eternal son of God so that by faith in His death, burial, and Resurrection, we might be forgiven of our sin and made one with Him.
The Seed of the woman, Who would crush the serpent's head and triumph over sin and death, passed silently through Seth and Enoch to Noah and his son Shem.
OH, He paid the complete price for sin but had to delay bringing in the Kingdom of Heaven on earth.
He came to bring deliverance from their enemies by conquering sin and death.
Israel was set aside for a season, God began to work through the Church, which is the Body of Christ, and the Kingdom of Heaven was postponed for 2000 years - UNTIL Israel repents of their sin, recognises their Messiah, and, calls on the name of the Lord. Then He will come in the clouds with His holy ones and we will rule and reign with Him.
They both delivered a fiery message of repentance and both zealously called sinners to repent of their sin and believe on the Messiah.
John was keen that 'The Chosen Lady' and her children, as well as the Christians in general, must hold fast to Scriptural truth; that Jesus was God the Son Who came to earth as a real Man at His first coming, that He came as a sacrificial offering for the sin of the world, and that He came to earth as Man Who knew no sin so that He could shed His human blood to pay that price for the sin of the world and to reconcile fallen man back to God.
We know about the carnal cravings, which are sought after by those that are dead in their sins and at enmity with the Lord - for we were once immersed in sin and estranged from our God and Saviour.
There are many injustices that Christians unjustly receive from those that are slaves of Satan and enslaved by sin, but we are not to take the law into our own hands when we are maligned and mistreated: Vengeance is mine, says the Lord, I will repay, so we must leave it in His hands.
When this dear man of God reflected on the depths to which his nation had sunk, due to their rebellious apostasy against the Lord and the spiritual bankruptcy that had ensued, he confessed his sin and the transgressions of the nation and pleaded with the Lord to forgive their sins and fulfil the promises He made to their forefather Abraham and his seed, forever.
We have the choice to lose hope, compromise the truth, and 'throw in the towel' OR we can grieve about our sin and the sin within the Church and repent of the apostasy into which we have fallen.
The biblical worldview is that man was created by God, but since Adam's fall when sin entered into the world and twisted man's thinking, it was man who started to create gods in their own image and to fashion idols of silver and gold, wood, and stone, in accordance with their corrupted, pagan thinking.
And despite many preachers of righteousness (like Noah), men of faith (like Abraham), and God's covenant people (Israel), all of whom knew the truth of their origin and their need for salvation, man in general was ignorant of their roots and estranged from the God Who created them and Who came to earth to redeem them from their sins.
Now and again, we find that certain components of pagan thinking echo certain elements of biblical truth, but the simple gospel that Christ died for our sins, was buried, and rose again according to the Word of God, cannot be compromised for there is no other name given among men whereby we must be saved.
Because of Christ's sacrificial death on the Cross for the sins of mankind and His glorious Resurrection from the dead, mans' sin could no longer be winked at or overlooked, and so God in His grace gave humanity a fresh start.
May we seek to tell others the good news of salvation who, like these men of Athens, remain dead in their trespasses and sins and eternally estranged from the God Who created them... the same God Who died for their sins on Calvary's Cross so that by faith in Him, they might live with Him forever.
It is not the old sin nature that is being changed.
The old 'me' died in Christ at the Cross of Calvary, when His blood paid the full price and penalty for my sins.
Behaviour modification of the old sin nature may produce a superficial change that meets the standards of the world, but only the Holy Spirit alone can transform the old life in Adam into the new life in Christ that we received at salvation.
It is a godly love that will reach into the eternal ages to come, a deathless love that will never end, for God is love.And yet, that continuously existing communion between Father and Son was broken at Calvary's Cross, as the Lord Jesus Christ was made sin for you and for me.
The sun hid its light as three hours of oppressive darkness shrouded the blackened sky, until Christ screamed in horror as He met the deepest point of suffering possible - separation from the Father.The price of sin had to be paid by the One and Only Sacrifice for sin, and it demanded that God the Father and God the Holy Spirit pour out the wrath of God upon the holy Son of God, by turning their face away from the One Whom They had loved for an eternity.No wonder that the Son cried out in anguish: My God!
to the other Members of the triune Godhead as the accumulated sin of the entire world was thrust on His sinless shoulders, and the full force of the wrath of the most high God was poured out in fullest measure on the unique Son of the Highest.Mortal mind cannot conceive of the intense bitter anguish and pain that must have descended on the innocent Sacrifice, for in bearing the sins of humanity that holy Man was made sin for us as the floodgates of God's wrath were poured out upon Him in all its holy fullness.
It was for this reason that He was born into His own creation and for this reason that He died for the sin of the world.
We are to eschew all forms of impure behaviours, for God has called us to live godly in Christ Jesus, Who died to pay the price for our sin, and has called us to live a life that is consecrated to Him.
Paul wanted to impress on all of us that sexual promiscuity is not only a sin against one's own body and cheats another person of their own conjugal rights, but it is a gross violation against the indwelling Holy Spirit, Who has taken up residence within the body of all believers.
We are called to trust the Lord our God Who has won the victory over sin, death, and Satan - and we have been promised that nothing can pluck us out of Christ's hand and nothing can snatch us out of our Father's hand, either.
But friend or foe alike, every one needed to be washed in His redeeming blood or pay the consequences of sin's deadly hold.Devoted obedience to the Father, gracious redemption of humanity, a glorious Bride for Himself, and the victorious reclamation of the kingdom was the goal of His divine calling, yet the loving-kindness He showed towards His mother, demonstrates the humanity of our Lord and the empathetic nature of God for His children, for when Jesus saw his mother and the disciple He loved standing nearby, He said to his mother, Dear woman, here is your son, and to the disciple he loved, Here is your mother.
Paul's warning is to avoid people such as these, who manipulate the minds of men and captivate weak, impressionable women when they are weighed down with sins and able to be controlled by various impulses.
From the moment that sin entered the world, Adam died spiritually, and every one of his descendants has been born with a sinful nature, dead in trespasses and sins, and in bitter conflict with God and all that is holy.
But God in His love, pity, mercy, and grace sent Jesus, His beloved Son, to be the propitiation for our sins, and all who believe on His name are saved by grace, through faith.
All who believe on Christ are rescued from the bondage of sin, set free from enslavement to Satan, redeemed by the blood of the Lamb, and are adopted into God's family; heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ.
Jesus identified with our sinfulness by dying on the Cross so that sin could be removed from our account and we could identify with Christ's righteousness, and not the unrighteousness of our former nature.
May we look to Jesus the incarnate Word made flesh, Who died and rose again so that we who believe on Him would never die, but gain forgiveness of sins and life everlasting.
In the light of this truth, the message of the Cross should be, to you and me, the most important, exciting, and precious truth which should both thrill our soul, encourage our heart, and motivate us to share the staggering message: that Christ died for our sin according to the Scriptures, that He was buried and rose again......... so that whosoever believes in HIM would not perish, but have everlasting life.
We all came into this world physically alive but spiritually dead - dead in trespasses and dead in sins.
From the moment we were born into this world, it was our sinful, fleshly desires that empowered us, and our old sin nature which kept us enslaved to sin and estranged from God.
Our sin nature (our 'old man' as the Bible calls it) was not only imputed to us from fallen Adam but also inherited from our sinful parents.
We are not sinners because we sin... we sin because we are sinners who were born dead in our sins.
We were born out of fellowship with God, in fellowship with sin, and enslaved by Satan.
We came into this world disunited from God but united together with sin, as children of the evil one.
We were born into this world as a slave to sin and until we were saved by grace through faith in Christ, our life was governed by our fallen nature - a sin nature which was at enmity with God and without hope in the world.
We either chose 1) to allow the old sin nature to dictate what we do in our Christian walk - OR 2) we will allow the Spirit of God to lead and guide, to command and to control.