Sin; The Basis for Purgatory

What exactly is purgatory and where did the teaching of purgatory come from?

"Purgatory (Lat., "purgare", to make clean, to purify) in accordance with Catholic teaching is a place or condition of temporal punishment for those who, departing this life in God's grace, are, not entirely free from venial faults, or have not fully paid the satisfaction due to their transgressions.

The faith of the Church concerning purgatory is clearly expressed in the Decree of Union drawn up by the Council of Florence (Mansi, t. XXXI, col. 1031), and in the decree of the Council of Trent which (Sess. XXV)defined:

"Whereas the Catholic Church, instructed by the Holy Ghost, has from the Sacred Scriptures and the ancient tradition of the Fathers taught in Councils and very recently in this Ecumenical synod(Sess. VI, cap. XXX; Sess. XXII cap.ii, iii) that there is a purgatory, and that the souls therein are helped by the suffrages of the faithful, but principally by the acceptable Sacrifice of the Altar;

The Catholic doctrine of purgatory supposes the fact that some die with smaller faults for which there was no true repentance, and also the fact that the temporal penalty due to sin is at times not wholly paid in this life."

http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/12575a.htm


A person's view on whether or not there is a place we call "purgatory" depends on their knowledge of the Scriptures and also on their understanding of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Having been brought up in the Catholic faith I believed in purgatory. But, when I studied the Scriptures for myself (which I encourage everyone to do) I could no longer subscribe to the idea of purgatory. I hope to lay out here in clear terms why I believe purgatory is not scriptural and I encourage readers to look up the Scriptures to gain a greater understanding for themselves. As Christians it is important for each person to know not only what they believe but why they believe it. As adults, it is not really acceptable for our beliefs about God to be based merely on what we were taught it as children or on what our parents, grandparents or even friends believe. We are each called to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord. (2 Peter 3:18) Each of us is called to a personal relationship with God through Jesus and as in all relationships, we have to do our part to learn and grow. It is through the knowledge of God that grace and peace are multiplied to us. (2 Peter 1:2)

Who was Jesus? Was He sinless?
So let's begin by understanding some basics about our Savior.  He is our foundation and everything else we believe is built upon that foundation.(1 Cor. 3:11 ) Historically there has been a lot of disagreement about who Jesus was. Was He really fully human and fully man? This was a major point of contention among many in the early church.  Covering the history of that topic is not my intention here except to say that I am writing from the basis that Jesus was indeed fully human and fully man; that He was the Son of God in the flesh. This is important because as the Son of God, Jesus was perfect. He never sinned. Because of that important distinction, He was able to fulfill the Law that God set forth in the Old Testament that required a spotless lamb as a sacrifice for sin. (Ex. 12:5) Yet, He was also human. Because of that He is able to understand all that we go through; all that we struggle with, and therefore He has great compassion on us.(Heb. 5:7) But, He did not have the fallen sin nature that all human beings are born with. He had no earthly father but was rather He was conceived by Mary through the Holy Spirit, clothed in human flesh by the Holy Spirit and empowered to do all that He did by the Holy Spirit of God.

So while we can be assured that Jesus was sinless, we know that there is nor ever has been any other human being who is sinless. There are people who seem to be very kind, giving and caring. Yet at some point they will sin. And sin is the basis for the idea that a place called purgatory must exist.

What is sin?
The topic of sin is not very popular these days. Certainly people outside of church circles do not talk about "sin". Yet it is clear to anyone who reads the news that there is something wrong with humanity. And what is wrong is that every person is born with a sin nature; that is, we are all sinners by nature. (Romans 3:10) A little child does not need to be taught to sin, but needs to be taught to NOT sin. Now a person might think, if sinning is natural to us and we can't help it that we sin, then why would God condemn anyone for the sin they commit? Is it fair for God to condemn us for doing things that are natural for us to do? And is it sufficient for a person to do good works to recompense for our wrong doings, or at least acknowledge and be sorry for the wrong we do? Along these lines, the question of purgatory comes in. Will we be required to suffer for either known or unknown sins in order to "fully pay the satisfaction due to our transgressions" (as written in the above statement from the New Advent Catholic web site) in a special place that God has prepared for us so that we can be purged from our sin and be made suitable to be in the presence of a holy God ? 

Once a person truly understands the Gospel (good news) of Jesus Christ, it will become clear that we can not suffer enough to make ourselves pure and holy and suitable to be in the presence of God. We can not be our own sacrifice because we are not sinless, and God requires a sinless sacrifice. Only Jesus fills the requirement. Our zeal for God and a desire to do right are not sufficient to save us because zeal and desires alone can not rid us of our nature. A person can be zealous for God but not be submitted to Him or attain a relationship with Him. (Romans 10:3) We will find ourselves crying as Paul did, Oh wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me from this body of death? (Romans 7:24)

So, what exactly is sin? Believe it or not the topic of sin is simple yet it can also be complicated. Some things that used to be considered sin are not considered sin any longer in this day and age. Also, we see in Scripture that one of the 10 commandments is, "You shall not bear false witness." Yet when the midwives lied and told Pharaoh that the Hebrew women gave birth before they could arrive to help and therefore they were not able to kill the Hebrew baby boys, God approved of their "false witness" and it was not considered to be sin. (Ex. 1:19,20) Do the 10 commandments cover every type of sin? And if we keep all 10, will we have met all that God requires of us? Of course, many people today believe that there is only one commandment that matters to us today, and that commandment is to "love others".(John 15:12) So if we just love everybody, does that make us sinless in God's sight?

According to Strong's Concordance, the Greek word translated "sin" is hamartano which means "to miss the mark; to err." Immediately this would lead a person to ask, "What mark?" The mark is the standard that God requires; it is God's law. God is the Lawgiver and His laws apply to all of mankind; not just to the Church, and not just to Israel, but to everyone. God determines what "sin" is. He has told us to love the Lord our God with all our hearts and our neighbor as ourselves. God also requires our obedience. He has also told us to love our enemies. No doubt we have failed to properly love God with all our hearts, failed to love our neighbor at times, failed to obey God's general as well as personal requirements and failed to love our enemies at some time or other in our lives. We miss the mark. We all have missed the mark.

Another word we find in the Scriptures that describes sin, the Greek word, "parabaino," is translated as "transgression." Strong's Concordance says that parabaino means "to go contrary to. . . i.e. to violate a command." As stated above, we have all violated God's commands at one time or another. According to Vines Expository Dictionary, Huperbaino means, "lit., to go over," i.e. "of overstepping the limits separating chastity from licentiousness, sanctification from sin," (used in 1 Thess. 4:6)    

And still another word connected to the idea of sin is the Greek word, "anomia" which means, "illegality; violation of law." Anomia is translated as "transgression" in some verses where it speaks of transgressing the law. According to Vines Expository Dictionary, Anomia means, "without law (a - negative) and is translated as "transgressors" in Luke 22:37. To be sure, Paul wrote to the Galatians, "Cursed is everyone that continues not in ALL things which are written in the Book of the Law to do them." (Gal. 3:10) When we commit "anomia" by violating even one of God's laws we are transgressors and we become cursed. The good news is that, "Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us. . . " (Gal. 3:13) The Galatians had heard about Jesus and gladly received Him as their Savior, but then - as so many people do even today - they thought they needed to keep laws in order to be justified in God's sight. But, as Paul told them, "No man is justified by the law in the sight of God. . . but, the just shall live by faith!" (Gal. 3:11)

And yet another word is "paraptoma." This is translated as "trespasses." It means "a side slip, deviation, lapse. Unintentional error or willful transgression." According to Vines, it means, "primarily a false step, a blunder; denotes a deviation from uprightness and truth." Vines notes that, "In Gal. 6:1 the word is translated as "fault" . . .  the reference is to 'the works of the flesh' that are listed in 5:19 and the thought is that of the believer's being found off his guard, the trespass taking advantage of him. . . " But in James 5:16 the word, "faults" is hamartias. Vines notes that, "auricular confession to a priest is not in view here or anywhere else in Scripture; the command is comprehensive, and speaks either of the acknowledgment of sin where one has wronged another, or of the unburdening of a troubled conscience to a godly brother whose prayers will be efficacious, or of open confession before a church."

Because God is perfect and Holy, sin is burned up in His presence. No man could stand in His presence because man is a sinner by nature. But the good news is that God has made a way for men and women to be freed from that sinful nature; to be made into new creatures that have a new nature and whereby we can become His children and live in His presence. (2 Cor. 5:17) This is good news, indeed! Yet so many of God's children, so many even in the Church do not understand how this is done and how it applies to our everyday lives. So many in the Church are held captive to the sin nature and find themselves unable to obtain victory over it, as the Apostle Paul wrote about in Romans 7:19. Many struggle with addictions and with various types of sin. Many have never been taught how to apply the Good News to their daily lives and have never experienced the power of the Gospel to set them free. Too many of God's children are unable to live a life of victory over sin and the sin nature. As pastor and evangelist Jimmy Swaggart learned (after having struggled with the sin nature and falling and having his sin be broadcast publicly) that there is one answer to the sin nature, and one alone. And the answer is found in the cross of Jesus and what He did thereon. He had tried for years to overcome the sin nature and failed time and time again. It is sad to say, but his story is not all that unusual. How can a person overcome sin? Sadly, it seems that many churches never teach on this because the pastors do not know themselves. In the Catholic church it seems that their answer is that a person will more than likely have some kind of sin in their life when they die and will have to go to "purgatory" to be purified before being pure enough to stand before a holy God. So, basically they are saying that it is not possible to live a life of victory over sin. It is true that no person is able to attain sinless perfection in this life and we all fall into sin on occasion, but we should understand also that when a Christian receives a new nature from God, our old sinful nature becomes dormant - as long as we maintain our faith in the power of the Cross of Christ. Once we understand the sanctifying power of the Blood of Jesus and put our trust in it to save us, we can be saved not only at the time of our death but we are sanctified in our daily walk. Just as we have faith in Jesus for our eternal salvation, we are to have faith in Jesus for our daily sanctification.

The Catholic Church teaches that there are two general kinds of sin. One is "original sin," which is what I speak of here as the sin nature that every human being is born with. The Church teaches that there are also then sins that we commit - some of them may be grave sins and others may be minor. Some sins we knowingly commit and some we commit unknowingly. It is important to distinguish between "original sin" and sins we commit. The sin nature is the root cause of all other sin.

Dealing with the sin nature
There are generally 5 ways that people deal with the sin nature.

One is that they simply deny that they have a sin nature at all. By taking this stance, a person is actually calling God a liar (1 John 1:10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His Word is not in us.) This denial can take the form of excusing our sin. Many people think that their faults are just minor and not a big deal at all, even as at times we have heard people say, Well, I haven't killed anyone. They deny that they have a sin nature, seeing themselves as a basically "good person". Even if they are not perfect, they are good - in their estimation. But the Scripture tells us again in 1 John 1:8, "If we say we have no sin [sin nature], we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us."

Even some Christians are in denial about the sin nature in them. They read in 2 Corinthians 5:17-18, "Therefore if any man is in Christ, he is a new creature  (creation); old things are passed away and all things are become new." They take this to mean that they no longer have a sin nature. I once held that view, but then what was I to make of it when I fell into some sin and "missed the mark"? As long as we live in this physical body, the sin nature is in us, but when a person becomes born again and is made into a new creation in Christ we receive a measure of the Holy Spirit and the sin nature in us is made dormant. We are told to not allow that old sin nature to dominate us any longer (Romans 6:12). If our faith is misplaced, that old sin nature can become active once again. Christians do sin. But our desire is to not sin because we now want to please God. When we do fall into sin we can confess our sin (to God as well as admitting it to ourselves and if need be confessing it to whomever we sinned against) and ask for forgiveness. The Scripture tells us that when we confess our sin, He (God) is faithful and just to forgive our sins AND to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." (1 John 1:9)

Another approach that people take in regard to sin is to remain ignorant about it. They simply don't understand the root of the problem and they do not understand the answer to the problem. Therefore they remain in their sin.

Others simply give sin license to operate. They might just say that what they are doing they do because it is their nature to do so. We see that today from many in the gay community. They claim that God made them gay, and therefore, since being gay is their "nature" then God approves of their acts. Others think that since grace is available, they can go ahead and do whatever they want to now, and ask for grace later. Evidently some in the early Church believed this because in Romans 6:1 Paul wrote, "What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin so that grace may abound? God forbid!" Apparently some thought they could continue to sin because then God could give more and more grace.

The fourth way people deal with the sin nature is to struggle with it. As written in the book, The Sin Nature by J. Swaggart, "Strangely enough, the 'struggle' with the sin nature applies, more than all, to Believers who are the most consecrated. They love the Lord supremely; therefore, to fail the Lord is a burden almost too heavy to bear. And yet, not knowing the Victory of the Cross, they are constantly failing the Lord, hence the constant struggle. In fact, most of these people are led to believe that this is what the Christian experience is - a daily struggle."

Since no person can overcome the sin nature by their own power, a Christian who struggles with sin might come to the conclusion that purgatory is the answer; the place where we can finally be purged from that sin we struggled with. But, as Swaggart said, it is "not knowing the Victory of the Cross," i.e., it is not knowing and understanding what Christ did at the Cross that causes us to think we have to struggle or suffer in order to become holy enough to enter Heaven. 

That leads us to the fifth and final way for us to deal with the sin nature, and that way is "grace". We receive God's grace - His unearned, undeserved favor, power and mercy - as we put our faith in what Jesus did on the Cross. Unfortunately, many churches do not teach much about what Jesus did there. It is talked about as a passing thing that somehow opened the way for us to go to heaven at the end of our lives, but it is not talked about as being of much help in living our daily lives. Therefore, too many Christians do not understand the truth (and how it applies to us today) of the Scripture that says, Therefore, we are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints, and of the household of God." (Eph. 2:19) We are- right now- citizens of heaven; members of the household of God.  And that is what will be the subject of the next blog!

What is Truth: Part One

Reading this morning about the subject of "truth". Of course there are truths about tangible objects in the physical realm that science can prove. But man is not only a physical being; he is a spiritual one as well. As such there is spiritual truth. Since science can neither prove or disprove spiritual truth, and man is given to confirmation bias and being self-deceived, how does a person know if something in the spiritual realm or in the realm of morality is true?
We now have more than one generation of kids who have been taught that truth is relative; that what is true for you is not necessarily true for everyone else. On occasion I have been told that something I stated is only "my" truth, as if truth is nothing more than a personal creation which can not be applied to all people. Of course, those who teach this liberal ideology have no problem then declaring that everyone must strictly adhere to their "truth" regardless of what they believe. Ha ha ha. That is human nature at its finest!
Liberal or leftist ideology says that the basis for what is moral and acceptable (which can not be based on any truth since, since truth is subjective and not universal) can be known by whether or not it harms anyone. This is not a solid foundation upon which any society can be built. For one thing, "harm" is subjective. Many in today's society (as a result of indoctrination by our schools) have embraced the idea that to harm someone means "to offend" or "make someone feel bad". A child who is denied what he/she wants by a parent, or is disciplined by a parent may believe that the parent is harming them because they experience a sense of distress. Atheists believe that religious people harm their children even if the children are happy and well adjusted. Some people believe that harming others is okay if the ends justify the means. This is true in regard to the abortion issue. The fetus (baby) will be harmed, it is true. But the end result (desire of the mother to rid herself of the baby growing inside of her and the stress she feels about it) justifies harm that is done to the fetus - which ends its life. Of course, when fighting evil such as we did with Hitler, it was necessary to harm Hitler in order to stop the harm he was doing to others. So society needs a greater ideology than the "do no harm" ideology to base itself upon.

Without a foundation of truth, we are indeed a nation in chaos and confusion.

God's Name

Studying the Hebrew - the Name of God. It was getting complicated, and I began to wonder, Does it really matter? God knows that I mean Him - even if/when I use a name that is not exactly correct. And I guess that there is some truth to that. Then I thought that partly, knowing the correct revealed name for God is for our benefit - it tells us about Him. Just as the Indians have names like Running Bear - names that mean something (the Hebrews did that, too), God's name is a revelation of who He is.

Western Culture has lost the sacredness of life (what sacredness was gained through knowledge of the Word of God), including the meanings of words and names. It seems that many in our society have chosen to lift up man (themselves) in the place of God. By following after their own thoughts, plans and desires (rejecting the revealed God of the Bible), they think they will find fulfillment. Yet it hasn't led to fulfillment. It has led to soaring rates of suicide, drug abuse, STD's, depression, abortion, fornication, division, hate, cheating, lying, stealing, gambling addictions, idolatry, etc. You would think that it is enough to cause people to wake up and say, we need to return to the source of life (The one that past generations honored - and thereby built this nation). The one who is revealed is in the Bible - the one our forefathers acknowledged and knew. Was there not a time in our land where a man's word was his bond? Where his handshake and promise could be counted upon? Where people didn't need to lock their doors? Where it was safe to walk on the streets - including downtown areas? A time when teachers were respected and children knew their fathers? It amazes me that many apparently believe that the answer lies in continuing and expanding the effort to enthrone man in God's place. Yet, because of His long-suffering, mercy and grace God will still reveal Himself to anyone who will come to Him.

Humanness is Defined and Refined by Relationships to Humans

I woke up this morning considering thankfulness and the state of life being human (remembering I haven't put a slip into my thankfulness jar for last week). What to put in for last week? What if I am not experiencing something that makes me feel particularly, overwhelmingly grateful? Of course there is the obvious. Like being grateful for food, clothing and shelter. Grateful for family and friends. The last 2 weeks I have put in a slip of thankfulness for my friends already. But what if there is nothing outstanding that is stirring up "feelings" of great thankfulness? No big exciting, overwhelming experience that occurred last week? Family and friends seem to be the constant, biggest thing that I experience a sense of thankfulness for. We are, after all, social creatures. But we are also fallen creatures. Even those that love us and are closest to us will disappoint us at times, and give us cause to struggle (whether we struggle because they let us down, don't understand us, or don't meet some particular need we have, or because they just do things we don't like, etc). They are only human. They are not perfect. 

Without a means to participate in society, I lack fulfillment as a human being, because it is through human interaction that my humanness is defined and refined. As I said, we are social creatures with a deep need to relate to other human beings who can relate to us on a human level (That level defined as being a moral plane of existence).  As wonderful as pets are (dogs and cats particularly), and as much as they give US what appears to be "unconditional love", they can not replace human love. But, you might say, I love my dog and my dog loves me. What part of a human relationship can an animal not fulfill? They can not give us thoughtful input in conversation - by which we can delve into the deeper meaning of our existence, or receive guidance in life for important issues such as whom you should marry, or which job would be a good fit for your talents and life. They can not sharpen a person's ability to answer the complex issues of life. They can not join us in prayer and in hope. They can not share values. They can not appreciate or share in human creativity in areas such as art or music or relate ideas that elevate us as an individual. The animal is not a human being, and knows nothing of the weight of responsibility of what it means to be human. An animal does not provide a human with the experience of or responsibility of being a partner in shaping morality in another being, or be a partner in the creation of another human being made in our likeness.

What about answers to prayer? What if I have not lately received any big answers to my prayers that I can put on my list of something I am thankful for? Who is God anyway, that I should be dedicated to Him even if He does not seem to answer my prayers to Him in the time and manner I "need" Him to? What if lately I keep asking for guidance, and I have received no big revelation or voice making it totally clear as to what direction to go in? Why remain so dedicated to this God that can not be seen? Why not just live my life only based upon what I can see with my eyes?

So, with that, I commenced on considering what my life experience might be like without the God of the Bible to form the basis for my life's values. There was and is no need to look too far for that answer. It is all around me in the state of our society. And it is not pretty. It is driven by selfishness. I am sorry to say that. It will make people angry, I know. But it is true. The fallen state of humankind is such that the center of each person's life is self. What pleases me? Even our love is selfish. I love you because you make me happy. You meet some need I have. I like those best that share my views - which of course, reinforces my sense of my being right.

I can be thankful for people that come across my life's path that do not hold the same views I hold because that interaction brings the opportunity for me to grow as a person. I might grow stronger in my beliefs as I hold them up against the beliefs of the others person, or I might grow stronger in character because it requires strength of character to examine why I believe what I believe and admit where my thoughts and beliefs fall short. Every relationship challenges me to reduce the self-centered basis upon which my life is built. But if I reduce "self" from the center of my life, what is suitable to fill that void where self used to reign? Indeed, it is impossible for a person to reduce self-centered living without something greater to replace the self upon which our life is centered. It must be something that can be trusted in more than we trust what our eyes can see (because not all things are what they appear to be), and more sure than what we can feel (our feelings - no matter how intense - are fleeting). We need something beyond our human realm, because everything in our human realm is temporary, faulty and changeable. That something is God, the Eternal One - unchangeable and perfect.

To that end, I am thankful for God who transcends our humanness, and thankful that He has called human beings to come into a personal relationship with Himself, that He has given us the Holy Scriptures so that we can know Him, and that He provided us with the means by which we can come to be His own family. That means is the shed blood of the only begotten Son of God, Jesus, the Messiah.

Does God Want Me to be Happy?

Seeing the title of this blog, it would seem like an easy answer to the question would be, "Of course God wants me to be happy". However, easy answers are not always very helpful. Unless our foundation is based upon Scripture, we are open for deception. It seems that people today use their level of happiness as a guide to determine what God's will is for them. If something makes them happy, then it must be God's will for them. And if something makes them unhappy, then they determine that that is not God's will for them. Using happiness as a guide leaves us wide open for deception. It sets up "Self" as a god. It will lead to an ungodly lifestyle which can include abortion, divorce, sex outside of marriage, adultery (extra marital affairs), justification of gay marriage, and a general partying lifestyle. In order to follow the god of happiness, our focus is on self gratification rather than on the Cross of Christ. While we all want the resurrection life, the truth is that even Jesus could not rise from the dead without dying first. Life truly comes out of death. Jesus taught,

"He that takes not his cross and follows after me is not worthy of me. He that finds his life shall lose it: and he that loses his life for my sake shall find it." (Matthew 10:38,39).

The Bible is filled with stories about people that suffered many things because they chose to follow God's ways, rather than seeking happiness.

Abraham was grieved when he had to send his son, Ishmael, away.

Jacob lived with sorrow all his days at the thought of his beloved son, Joseph, being killed by a wild animal. He didn't know that God sent Joseph ahead of him to Egypt in order to spare them from famine.

Joseph was sold into slavery by his own brothers, and then was falsely accused by Pharaoh's wife and ended up in prison for years.

Moses "refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter/choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season." (Hebrews 11:24,25)

David was pursued by Saul, who became jealous and tried to kill David.

The prophet Hosea was told by God to marry a harlot. That certainly would not bring a lot of happiness to his life.

 Sometimes, the people closest to them didn't understand. Job's wife told him that he should "curse God and die" when he had lost everything - his children, his wealth and even his health. (Job 2:9)

Now, all of this does not mean that God is against us being happy, and prefers sadness. Not at all! But, our level of happiness is not a dependable guide in determining what God's will is for us. We are not to be led by our emotions. Emotions can and will deceive us, and are up and down depending upon circumstances. A recent article in the local paper stated that a study showed that people that focused on happiness the most were the most likely to experience periods of depression. God doesn't want us to be up and down, and blown around by circumstances.Paul wrote to the Ephesians that we should, "from now on, walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind." (Ephesians 4:17)

When Jesus was about to go to the cross and die, He spoke to His disciples about it, and recognized that this message would cause sadness in the disciples. In John 16:6,7 He told them, "Because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart. Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you." It is evident from this, that it is not God's will for us to be sad either. The Holy Spirit is here to comfort us when circumstances are difficult. It is interesting, though, that the comfort that the Holy Spirit brings us comes by bringing to our remembrance the glory of Jesus. Jesus said, When the Comforter is come, whom I will send you from the Father, the Spirit of Truth which proceeds from the Father - He shall testify of Me." (John 15:26) Also, speaking of the Holy Spirit, our comforter, Jesus said, "He will guide you into all truth: for He shall not speak of Himself; but whatsoever He shall hear, that shall he speak" and He will show you things to come. He shall glorify Me: for He shall receive of mine, and show it to you." And now therefore  [because of the news of His leaving them] you have sorrow; but i will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man takes from you." Here we have a happiness and joy that is with us no matter what our circumstances are. Again, Jesus prayed for the disciples

"Father, I will that they also, whom You have given Me, be with Me where I am; that they may behold My glory, which You have given Me: for You loved Me before the foundation of the world." (John 17:24)

The word translated "behold" here is: theorio. It means "to be a spectator of, or discern". In 2:3 Corinthians Paul wrote that as we "behold the glory of the Lord, we are changed into the same image". The word "behold" there is different. It is: katoptrizomai". It means "to mirror oneself, to see reflected". As we discern the glory of Jesus, we will also reflect it.



His will for us is that we be made into the image and likeness of Jesus. His will has been the same from the beginning.

In Genesis 1:26 He said, "Let Us make man in Our image and after our likeness." 

In Romans 8:29 Paul wrote, "For, whom He did foreknow, He also did predestine to be conformed to the image of His Son, so that He [His Son] might be the first-born of many brethren."

In 2 Corinthians 3:18 he wrote that,  "We all, with open face beholding (as in a glass) the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image - from glory to glory, as by the Spirit of the Lord."

It is this focus on the glory of the Lord, and that glory being reflected in our hearts, changing us into His image that can keep us grounded. It does not change with the circumstances. As Paul said,

We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed. Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body. For we which live are always delivered unto death for Jesus' sake, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh."   (2 Corinthians 4:8-11)

This is the hope we have in Jesus. That "Our light affliction, which is but for a moment, works for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; While we look - not at the things which are seen - but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporary; but the things which are not seen are eternal." (2 Corinthians 4:17,18)

This gospel, this good news will give us peace and joy that can help us overcome the trials of life. Happiness can come and go because of circumstances. We cannot use it as a guide. But there can always be an inner peace and joy when we keep our focus on the eternal glory to come because of what our Savior did for us.

Beware of Deception

What took place in the Garden of Eden is exactly what is taking place every day all around the world. We can see in Genesis 3 a classic example of the deceitful traps we all face even today. And the results are still the same. I was in a Facebook discussion recently with a fellow who believed that the "fruit" of the forbidden tree was and is sex. It became necessary to end the conversation, but the idea of what that fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil is brings many questions to mind. Children are shown pictures of apples because of the use of the word "fruit" - "Of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden,, God has said, You shall not eat of it, neither shall you touch it, lest you die." Gen. 3:3

In the Anchor Bible, the verses in Genesis concerning the tree of what we call the "tree of the knowledge of good and evil" are translated as "the tree of the knowledge of good and bad". It is worth noting the differences in the Anchor Bible translation of several verses in Genesis concerning the incident in Eden.

Gen. 3:1 "Now the serpent was the sliest of all the wild creatures that God Yahweh had made. Said he to the woman, 'Even though God told you not to eat of any tree in the garden . . .'
The author of the Anchor Bible comments that the Hebrew wording translated literally as "Even though" here shows that the serpent was not asking a question but rather was deliberately distorting a fact. The Hebrew Chumash renders this verse as, "He said to the woman, 'Did, perhaps, God say, You shall not eat of any tree of the garden?'" In other words, the serpent was saying, "Is it possible that God forbade you to eat of any of the trees? Why would He have created them if they are not to be enjoyed?" How many people fall for this reasoning today? Pleasures are meant to be enjoyed...it is foolish to restrain yourself from them. If it feels good, it must be right.

Gen. 3:2,3 "The woman interrupted the serpent, 'But we may eat of the trees of the garden! It is only about the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden that God did say, Do not eat of it, or so much as touch it, lest you die!"
How sly the serpent is! Though his purpose is to bring her attention to the tree that they were told not to eat from, he exaggerates God's command concerning eating from a particular tree to include all of the trees. Eve counters with an exaggeration of God's command as well. We can see how exaggeration of facts plays into deception! Now without even mentioning the one forbidden tree, the serpent has gotten Eve to focus on it in her defense of God's commands.
By her adding to the command, she opens up a door for deception. The Hebrew Chumash relates that a Jewish midrash concerning this says that when Eve added, "neither shall you touch it lest you die", the serpent pushed her up against the tree and said, "Just as you did not died from touching it, so you will not die from eating it!" When we go beyond what God has told us, it opens the door for unbelief to enter in, when what we have added is proven to be wrong. The devil used this same ploy in tempting Jesus in the wilderness. He exaggerates the Scripture. He adds to it again. First, he omits a portion of the verse in Ps. 91 to say that "He shall give His angels charge over you, to keep you." (rather than "to keep you in all your Ways", which refers to the Ways of God). Then in Luke 4:11 he misquotes the passage from Ps.91 by adding "at any time". So the meaning becomes exaggerated to say that the angels will keep us in any circumstance that we find ourselves in, even if we have not been diligently keeping ourselves in God's Ways. How many people again, fall into this trap. They have not diligently sought God's direction according to His Word, and when things don't work out, they blame God.

Gen. 3:4,5 "But the serpent said to the woman, 'You are not going to die. No, God well knows that that the moment you eat of it your eyes will be opened and you will be the same as God in telling good from bad."
Both the Anchor Bible and the Hebrew Chumash translate the tree to give knowledge of "good and bad". The author of the Anchor Bible notes that this is different than "good and evil," because the use of the word evil carries a moral implication, while bad has wider implications, such as bad experiences. The word "telling" here is actually "knowing" (the Hebrew stem word 'yd') and means not only to know something, but it describes the "process and result of coming to know". So this can be translated, "you will be the same as God in distinguishing good from bad."
The Hebrew Chumash makes an interesting point concerning these verses. In the Chumash they point out that those who try to rationalize the Word of God away often say that those who preach it are out to consolidate power for themselves - to control others. This is a widely used accusation today in our society. People who are against gay marriage and abortion for instance, are accused of trying to impose oppressive measures upon an unwilling society and they are accused of attempting to control people's lives and rob them of their freedom. People today highly value their own ability to distinguish for themselves between good and bad. Just as the serpent implied here that God was withholding this special wisdom from them in the Garden, people in our society today have fallen for that same lie. Even some of the Churches have unwittingly fallen into this by bringing in Greek and Eastern philosophy into their teaching. Rather than preaching the Cross of Christ as the ultimate answer for all of our needs, they have begun preaching a counterfeit gospel that includes visualization, ways to raise your for self esteem, meditation and other methods of gaining "success".

Gen. 3:6 "When the woman saw that the tree was good for eating and a delight to the eye, and that the tree was attractive as a means to wisdom, she took of its fruit and ate; and she gave some to her husband and he ate."

Here we see that there are two sources for "wisdom". There is the wisdom that comes from God and there is the wisdom of the world. For the child of God, Scripture tells us that Jesus is made unto us wisdom (1 Cor. 1:30). Paul writes a lot about the wisdom of this world and the wisdom of God in his letter to the Corinthians. In chapter one he plainly declares that the preaching of the Cross of Christ is the "power of God and the wisdom of God". In chapter 2 he tells us that our faith "should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God", and that he spoke of the "wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom which God ordained before the ages unto our glory; which none of the princes of this world knew. For had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of Glory." The child of God has an infinitely greater source of wisdom (which is found when we place our faith in what was accomplished at Calvary) than what the world calls wisdom, but God calls foolishness.
In my discussion with that person on Facebook that I referred to in the beginning of this post, that person, along with much of even the Church world believes that Eve is to blame for the fall of man. They believe that Eve is the one that persuaded Adam to "eat of the apple" so to speak. This is simply not true. The New Testament tells us that she was deceived, but that Adam was not deceived (1 Tim. 3:14). Also, according to the Hebrew Chumash, in verse 6 of Genesis 3 where it is written, "she gave also to her husband with her. . ." that that word "with" means "at one with her." He was in agreement with her eating and he was not deceived or influenced or, "hopelessly tempted", as the Chumash puts it. Also, according to the Hebrew Chumash, when Adam admitted to God that he ate of the tree, his reply of "I ate" uses the future tense of the verb. Basically he said, "I ate, and I will eat again!" In any case, that is a little off the topic of this post, but is an important fact that needs to be stated because of the oppression women have faced because of the misinterpretation of this story.


The story of deception in the Garden shows us the current condition of mankind. They believe that they are well able to choose for themselves what is good and what is bad. And while refusing to submit to God's ways and His means of obtaining righteousness and holiness, mankind prefers to believe that they are wise in themselves and have no need of humbling themselves and admitting that they are not wise enough in their own abilities to understand the issues of life.

Every child of God can also fall into this thinking if we are not diligent. It goes against human nature to humble ourselves and admit that we do not have the ability to succeed without the Lord's help. So often we try everything we can think of to succeed, and turn to prayer only after exhausting our own resources. Then if/when we do succeed, we tend to feel that we are talented, wise and good in ourselves. Just as the Tree of Life was in the center of the Garden, so Jesus Christ and Him crucified is to be in the center of our lives and in the garden of our hearts. Every day we are make a decision to depend upon ourselves or depend upon what Jesus did for us on the cross. Will we look to His Word to establish our values and "know what is good and what is bad", or will we look to our circumstances or the circumstances of those around us and determine that in our own wisdom we will decide for ourselves. So many people that love someone (perhaps a family member or good friend) who gets involved in a gay lifestyle determine that there is really nothing wrong with the gay lifestyle after all. This can be true of people accepting abortion as a necessary part of life. There is a lot of pressure in today's society to accept sin in its many forms, rather than be looked at as a prude. Then there are people who try and try to overcome sin in their own strength. All of these things are really rebellion against God. The answer for all of our needs is found by placing our faith in what Jesus did for us on the Cross. God doesn't answer our prayers based upon how good we have been. He honors our prayers when our faith is firmly planted in the finished work at Calvary and when we humbly admit that He alone is our everything. Without Him, we can do nothing (even as Jesus said).

God has sent Jesus to redeem us from our sins. In order to do that, He (Jesus) had to suffer and die on the cross, pouring out His precious Blood to cleanse us from our sins. If we could overcome sin in our own strength, Jesus would not have had to do this. Scripture says that Jesus is "made unto us wisdom". Will we look to Him as our source of wisdom, or do we depend upon our own abilities to succeed in this world?

Isaac and Yieldedness

As previously written about, a great lesson that can be taken away from the example of Isaac's life is the lesson of submission. Isaac was the child of a fulfilment of God's promise. To know that God is faithful to fulfill His promises is a very necessary foundation that we must have before we can truly yield to God. Isaac, in being born to a mother who was past the natural age of childbearing certainly could not have missed the fact that his birth was a result of God's faithfulness. No doubt his parents told him about the circumstances of his miraculous birth. When Ishmael was sent away, it would also seem that they must have explained some things to Isaac as well. How do you explain to your child why his older "brother" is no longer living with them and that Ishmael was not to be an heir with Isaac (Gen 21:10)? Isaac understood his special place in the family. He understood enough to submit himself even unto death when Abraham and he went to Mount Moriah. Submission and yieldedness are an outworking of the Law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus in us. We certainly see that submission at work in the life of Jesus as well. The spirit of submission is to be a mark in the life of each child of God. Submission separates us from the carnal life. The 2 (carnal life and spiritual life) are opposed and cannot dwell peacefully together. Ishmael ( a type of the carnal life) mocked Isaac ( a type of spiritual life). The carnal nature must be cut off so that the spiritual nature can reign. Why?

The carnal nature does not yield itself to God's ways. It is actually opposed to God's ways. In Galatians 5:17-25 Paul outlines the differences of the fruit of the carnal nature and the spiritual nature. Envy, strife, wrath etc. versus meekness, longsuffering, love, peace etc. A child of God who has not learned submission can cause harm to their witness of God's work in their life. When we see others around us falling short of God's grace, it can be a temptation for us to speak out against it. We naturally want to say something about the sin we see around us. Maybe we even see people who are Christians that are not acting properly. It can be very tempting for us to speak up. There are times we should speak up, but there are times we should not. Unless we have learned submission, we can do more harm than good by speaking out when we should be instead allowing ourselves to be broken in spirit, humbling ourselves before God and taking the matter to Him in prayer first. If a person is operating in the carnal self will when a person points sin out to others, it comes with a sense of condemnation. This only causes the hearer to feel "condemned", resulting in them becoming defensive and hardening their heart. However, when we are broken in spirit and cry out to God on behalf of the sinner, the Holy Spirit brings "conviction" to the sinner. Along with that conviction He brings the desire and power to repent - which means to turn around and go in a different direction. The work of God will be done inwardly. And we can rejoice in seeing this work of God. As it is written, "Not by might, not by power (human power), but by His Spirit." This in turn strengthens our faith and encourages our hearts as we see His work in the hearts of others. There is a work that only He can do, and it is a lasting work. It comes by us submitting to Him, as Peter wrote, "Submit yourself under the mighty hand of God. . . , casting your cares upon Him. . ."( 2 Peter 5:6,7) These verses come right after Peter says, "All of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resists the proud, and gives grace to the humble." In chapter 3 verse 15 he tells us, "Sanctify the Lord God in your hearts; and be ready always to answer to every man that asks you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear."

When we truly understand that we are sons of God as a result of His promise (not as a result of our own will of the flesh), and we learn true submission, then we are able to humble ourselves before Him and receive His grace. Then our words (if He directs us to speak) will be spoken in meekness rather than condemnation. It is in this setting that the Holy Spirit can move freely, even as Paul wrote, "When I am weak, then I am strong." And all the glory will go to the Lord because we will know that it was His Spirit, not the arm of our flesh that brought about the miraculous result, and we will be able to rejoice in His faithfulness in hearing and answering our prayers.

Isaac and the Law of the Spirit of Life

I love it when I wake up in the morning and am given an insight into something concerning God's ways. This morning upon waking up, a new respect for Isaac came to me. When Abraham took Isaac with to offer the ultimate sacrifice (of his son), Isaac was not a small child. He was old enough to protest or refuse. But he did not. As much as Abraham is known for his willingness to offer his son, Isaac shows us what it is to lay down his life. He evidently had learned from his parents enough about God to trust Him with his life. This says a lot about Abraham and Sarah, but also about Isaac. In the Book of Romans, it is written, "I beseech you brethren by the mercies of God, to offer your body a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service." The only way you can offer your body as a living sacrifice to God is by faith. Faith in the Cross of Christ. Because He died for us, we can also give ourselves by faith to God who is worthy of our trust. Without knowing God's love, a person who simply tries to die to self is offering God the works of the flesh, as Cain did. They are trying to earn God's love, which can not be done. God loved us first. We cannot earn His love. Isaac represents one who receives God's blessings by trusting in God's promises. There is much to say about Isaac, which I will continue with. But for now, I wanted to get a start on what came to me this morning.

Abraham and the Law of the Spirit of Life

One thing about cold, rainy, windy weather is that it makes me take a break from all the outdoor work required in preparation for the coming winter. So with that I can move on to the next group of patriarchs and the lessons we can learn from them about the Law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus. So far, in Abel, Enoch and Noah there has been a common thread in the message of their lives. They all looked to something beyond themselves and this world. Faith in Him ( His Blood, His Word and His resurrecting power that delivers and saves us), and renouncing the world system in which we live is a working out of that common thread. In other words, Abel speaks of the Blood, Enoch speaks of walking in the power of agreement with God (trust in His Word), and Noah speaks of resurrection power. However, as we have seen in the Scripture accounts, these three are not recorded as having had a significant impact on the world around them. They still have the mark of infancy. They themselves are saved (in Noah's case his family is also), but there is no record of fruitfulness beyond that. Now we must go on to maturing in our Life in God.

Then we come to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Abraham is called the Father of our Faith. His story begins with a common element found in Noah's story. He is called to come out of his natural life. Abraham was born in and living in the midst of a pagan society. We also are called to come out from a life of idolatry and unbelief and stand on resurrection ground in a new Life. We go on to learn that not only is this new life from God, but it is also for God. The Law of the Spirit of Life working in Abraham resulted in Abraham learning to lay down his natural expectations. So many times we mix the two. Especially today. We come into this new life full of faith; but must be careful not to use our faith with our goal being that of having our natural life enhanced and our own dreams fulfilled. We see Abraham leaving his father's land and coming into the land which God showed him, only to experience famine. We see that God promised Abraham an heir, yet he was 100 years old before Isaac was born. As one author (Gerald Schroeder) puts it, divine delay seems to be a normal part of the way God deals with us. Jesus knew to wait for God's timing. Remember when Lazarus died? Jesus waited four days before going to meet Mary and Martha. It did not seem to be good timing to Mary and Martha - we see Mary saying to him, "If you had been here, my brother would not have died" (John 11:32). In John 7:6 he tells his brothers, "My time is not yet come; but your time is always ready." There is the parable that Jesus told in Luke 12:42-46 in which He tells us that God's timing is not our timing: "But if that servant says in his heart, My lord delays his coming, and begins to beat the menservants and maidens, and to eat and drink, and be drunk; The lord of that servant will come in a day when he looks not for him and at an hour when he is not aware." Aabraham and Sarah did not understand this divine delay and took matters into their own hands, producing an offspring of the flesh. But later they had to acknowledge that Ishmael was not the heir that God had promised and had to send Ishmael away. In his book, "God According to God" author Gerald Schroeder speaking about Abraham accepting God's word that his posterity would suffer 400 years in Egypt writes, "Abraham could accept the package of a harsh exile followed generations later by reward only because. . . Abraham's encounter at the covenant (Gen. 15:17-18) took him behind the veil of our temporal world." Abraham was 100 years old when Isaac was finally born. Abraham confessed that he was a sojourner in the land. He looked beyond this world to a world yet to come. He learned to trust God's Word regardless of his personal circumstances. He "believed God" even when he didn't immediately receive the manifestation of God's promise. Our Life in Christ Jesus is not measured by our circumstances. The Law of the Spirit of Life requires us to understand that this Life is a life hidden in God, and we live for Him, not for ourselves. We learn to trust HIM regardless of circumstances and regardless of what seems to be delay on His part, knowing that He has a greater purpose than we may be able to discern at the time. We begin to understand that it is through faith and patience that we inherit the promises, and begin to desire that His Will be done rather than ours. Our Life in Him is a hidden inward Life lived for Him; and the source of this life is hidden behind the veil of this outward life we see. It is hidden from the world. It is a life lived with the Cross of Christ as our foundation. Speaking of Abraham, Jesus said, "Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it and was glad" (John 8:56). We understand what Paul meant when he wrote in Colossians 3:2,3 "Set your affections on things above, not on things on the earth. For you are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God."

Because of Abraham's deep faith and trust in God, God promises him that he will be a father of many nations (Gen. 17:4). Kings would come from Abraham (and Sarah too!) Genesis 17:6,16). God also told Abraham that in him "shall all the families of the earth be blessed." (Gen. 12:3) So we can understand that living according to the Law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus (a hidden life of deep abiding faith in God alone) brings richness to not only our own lives but also to many others.

All of these things from Abel through Abraham are outworkings of the Law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus. That Law is one law. That law flows out of the Cross of Christ. The blood shed in Abel's offering, the Word Enoch had faith in that allowed him to "walk with God" because "faith pleases God", the Ark of Noah taking him through the flood onto resurrection ground, and the "day" of Jesus that Abraham saw and was glad when God allowed him to see beyond the veil of this life all point to the Cross of Christ and Him crucified. Even the offering up of Isaac by Abraham speaks of God offering His Son upon the Cross. It is the Cross - Jesus's shed blood - not the offering of our own hands as Cain but a blood offering as Abel gave, reconciling us so we can "walk with God" as Enoch did. The Cross is our Ark taking us over to resurrection ground. Life in Christ Jesus comes by way of the Cross alone.

The First Three of the Seven Laws of the Spirit of Life

As stated in my previous post, there are Laws which govern our Spiritual Life in Jesus. Just as there are laws that govern nature and physical life, it makes sense that there are also laws that govern spiritual life. In his book "Things of the Spirit", author Austin Sparks expounds on seven "laws" of the Spirit that are evidenced in the lives of persons who are recorded in the book of Genesis. Since Adam is the first recorded human to be made in the image of God, his life example might have been one that showed what it means to live according to the law of the Spirit. However, Adam failed. He is instead an example of going from spiritual life to spiritual death. So when Jesus came to reverse that ("I am come that they might have life and that they might have it more abundantly" John 10:10), he is called the second Adam. Through Jesus (Yeshua), we can see the principles of Life expressed, and we can obtain Life by exercising faith in Him and what He did at the Cross. What a marvelous invitation He has given to us when He said "Come and follow Me". His graciousness is expressed in the many invitations He gave to the "whosoevers". He is our "bread of Life" (John 6:35, 48, 51). As we take His essence into our lives and partake of His nature, His Life is brought into our own being. His Spirit will live in us and we will have the evidence within our spirit of His indwelling.

In the generations that followed Adam we can see individuals whose lives are expressions of one or more of the laws of the Spirit of Life. By examining them we gain various insights into the Laws that govern the Spiritual Life; and all of these Laws are clearly expressed in the life of Yeshua our Messiah.

In Abel, Enoch and Noah we can see an expression of Spiritual Life in the stages of infancy. Their lives are an expression of faith in God, with a lesson for us in the necessity of being "right" with God but there is no record of them being a further witness and bringing that Life out into a greater manifestation in the world around them. Justification by faith is absolutely the foundation of Life in the Spirit and we see that in these three men. Abel's short life is so often quickly read over and yet is very rich in it's witness. Abel understood that right standing with God comes through blood. As Scripture records in Leviticus 17:11 "The life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls; for it is the blood that makes an atonement for the soul." The way to life is through death. While Cain brought an offering of his carnal labor, the fruit of his hands and the ground, Abel understood that the fruit of our own efforts cannot please God and cannot bring about the righteousness required to walk with a holy God. Carnal men hate that message. And so Cain became jealous and despised Abel so much that he killed him, just as we see that the religious rulers in Yeshua's time hated him. Cain was a religious person - he acknowledged God. He brought God an offering to worship God. People like to think that we can do good things that make us acceptable to God and can get angry when presented with the truth that Life with God comes through death and the recognition that we have nothing good enough of ourselves to offer God. Yeshua paid the penalty for our sin by the shedding of His Holy blood.

In Enoch we see a principle of the Law of Life in that Enoch "walked" with God. All around him was death as a result of sin. The verses in Genesis give us record after record of those who lived a certain number of years and died. But it does not record that Ecnoch died. It says that "God took him". Just as Jesus said, "He that hears my Word and believes on Him that sent me has everlasting life and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life." and "If a man keeps my saying, he shall never see death." (John 5:24 and 8:51) The prophet Amos asks, "Can two walk together unless they agree?" (Amos 3:2) And Michah writes, "He (God) has shown you what is good; and what does the Lord require of you, but to do justly, to love mercy and to humble yourself to walk with your God." (Micah 6:8) From this we can see that Enoch did not put his trust in his own ability (humbled himself), but put his faith in God. To agree with God is to agree that we cannot save ourselves, and to agree with God that He is our salvation and deliverer. The first Adam chose to decide for himself to eat of the tree to gain knowledge of good and evil rather than being totally dependant upon God and agreeing with God. Yeshua, the second Adam humbled Himself, becoming obedient unto death on the cross. Enoch shows us that faith in God requires agreement with Him - which is required to walk with Him.

In Noah we see the expression of the Law of Life in another way. The lesson we learn from Noah is that while Life in not found in this world system it comes by way of resurrection. The world in Noah's day was filled with death and violence. But of Noah we read that he, "found grace in the eyes of the Lord" (Genesis 6:8) and he "walked with God" (Genesis 6:9) and he "did according to all that God commanded him" (Genesis 6:22). In finding grace (as Abel did) and walking with God as Enoch did (which as we just said, required humbling himself and agreeing with God), Noah repudiates the world system. His message is that as he patiently built the ark, day after day, he was looking to the resurrection side which the ark would bring him to after the death of all living things. In Noah we see that God will make all things new. Resurrection is in focus. The Law of the Spirit of Life requires us to live from resurrection ground. We repudiate the world system. We live in the newness of Life found in the Messiah as Romans 6:4 tells us "Therefore we are buried with Him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life."

So those are the first three principles as found in Abel, Enoch and Noah. Life on the basis of the Blood of Christ (His righteousness not our own), Life on the basis of agreement with God (His will, not ours) and Life on the basis of walking in newness of Life repudiating the world system - our life is now based on His Word, not the world system.

The Law of the Spirit of Life

The Bible is a book about Life and Death, and the Laws that govern life and death.

We are told that it is God's desire that we should live, and that Jesus came so that we may have life, more abundant life.

In order to experience abundant life, the abundant life God is speaking about, we need to know about the Laws that govern that experience and abide by those laws. I should say - that Law - really it is one law, the Law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus.

Right away some questions come to my mind. Are we talking about a Law of the Spirit? Who's or what spirit? The Holy Spirit or man's spirit? Or a Law of - -the Spirit of Life? What is this Life? It is clear, however, that we are talking about Life that is found in Jesus. To be sure, it is a different life than we find in ordinary, physical living.

When we place our faith in what Jesus did at Calvary, the Holy Spirit is imparted to us as Jesus said. The Holy Spirit comes to live in us. There is a "Law" which governs that and makes it possible for the Holy Spirit to direct our path and guide us properly.

By "Law" I do not mean "legalism" - to try to obey a standard in order to obtain righteousness for our own exaltation. Rather I am speaking of "Law" as in the guarantee that this works every time. Like gravity. It is what it is. Until people understood gravity and its laws they could not institute guidelines on how to build an airplane properly and cause it to fly. All physical life follows along the lines of spiritual realities. So it is with the Law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus. Until we understand the Law that governs that Life, we can not successfully operate in it.

Now obviously, this Life in Christ Jesus is different than the life that every living person is experiencing. In Eden, God had said to Adam that, "the day you eat of it (the tree of knowledge), you shall surely die." We know that when Adam ate from that tree something did happen. However, he continued to live physically for about 900 years! What died in Adam was Spiritual Life.

So we see that there is physical life - which is still from God; but there is a life on a higher level. A life that Jesus called "life more abundant". A life lived in connection to the "Power Source". A life that is greater than an ordinary physical life. A purely physical life is marked by limits. Because man was created by God he can do some amazing things, but in the end it is all for naught. It ends in death. Its source is limited to man's ability and strength. Outwardly it may look great, but inwardly it is marked by sin.

The difference between these two kinds of life is vast. Physical life alone is a false life. It looks like life, but its fruit - its outcome - what it produces in the end is death. The source of life, God, has been cut off. While outwardly there is an appearance of life, it cannot last. And it is marked by sin and selfishness along the way. It cannot measure up to God's standard of perfection and holiness. A standard by which we will all be measured when we give an account for our lives.

Now the only way to be reconnected to our Creator - our Source, is to place our faith, our trust in Jesus' death at Calvary, and take that death into our own lives. We recognize that He died in our place and we identify with that. We likewise die to ourselves. When He died in our place, we died with him as far as we are concerned. Is that right? Scripture tells us that it is so. II Timothy 2:11 tells us, "IF we are dead with Him we will live with Him." Romans 6:5 says, "IF we have been planted in the likeness of His death, we shall be also in the likeness of His resurrection. Knowing this: that our old man is/was crucified with Him. . ."

So here we have two kinds of life. One life - the false life - leads to death. But the true life begins with death and leads to life. (It begins with death as it relates to us, not as it relates to its source. I am speaking from our human viewpoint.)

There are 7 aspects which we must understand in order to comprehend the working of this True Life, the Life in Christ Jesus in us. Author T. Austin Sparks writes: "Jesus is a prism. A prism through which manifold expressions of life shine forth."

These expressions are seen in the Book of Genesis. "Genesis is comprehensive of the whole ground of death and life, and it's comprehensiveness is gathered up into 7 persons; each of whom brings Christ into view in some aspect of Life. The 7 are from Adam to Joseph." (T.Austin Sparks)

God's Timing not Ours

When you are involved with a joint venture - disagreements can arise. It is unfortunate if those disagreements devolve into accusations. However, even when personal accusations are hurled against you and you know that you are upholding a position of righteousness, maintaining peace in your heart and forgiveness toward the accuser is posible. How do you know if you are maintaining a position of righteousness? If the stand you are taking is in line with God's Word and His character, then we can know our cause is right. There will be no underhandedness, deceitfulness, monkey business, selfishness, greed, resentment, harshness, manipulation and other things like that involved. Your motivation will be to honor God. Then even though people may accuse you (as they did Yeshua) you will be able to remain free of anger, self-defensivess that leads to division and self righteousness because you will be confident that your heart does not condemn you before God.

Forgiveness is important at times like that. Resisting revenge and loving those who falsely accuse you can be done easily when you keep the cross of the Messiah in clear view. The letter of Peter in Scripture makes it clear that Yeshua gave us an example to follow. He did not return evil for evil and we are to follow His example, recognizing that we have also received forgiveness and that Yeshua died for us while we were still sinners. Just as God has been patient with us, we need to be patient with others, knowing that the present stressful situation can result in glory to God and blessing for us. Give God time to deal with each individual involved. God tells us in His Word that He deals mercifully with us and them, and that He also teaches us in small doses - Line upon Line, Precept upon Precept. If we will trust Him, He will do a work in our own hearts as well as in the heart of your accuser.

How Can We Know the Bible is True?

This is a legitimate question, and one that everyone should ask themselves when considering the topic of religion. There are many religions in the world. So, how do we know which one is right?



Thankfully, there is a lot of evidence we can consider. A good place to start is with the Nation of Israel.

LOOK AT ISRAEL

Their history is well documented, and just the fact that they continue to exist as a nation is amazing. Consider that the Israeli people were taken captive from their homeland, scattered throughout all the nations of the world, and have regathered once again with their history, culture, language and religion in tact. Generally, when a group of people are scattered like the wind into all corners of the earth, losing their homeland, over time they lose their identity as one cohesive nation and are simply absorbed into the culture around them. This happened to the Vikings. They became so spread out they lost their origins as one nation, and were absorbed into the cultures they went to conquer. Not only does Israel continue, but their history of being spread throughout the earth and then returning to their homeland was foretold in the Bible. Here are some passages that address this:
Jeremiah 16:14,15 Therefore, behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when it shall no longer be said, 'As the Lord lives who brought up the people of Israel out of the land of Egypt', but 'As the Lord lives who brought up the people of Israel out of the north country and out of all the countries where he had driven them.' For I will bring them back to their own land which I gave to their fathers.

Jeremiah 23:3 And I will gather the remnant of my flock out of all countries where I have driven them, and I will bring them back to their fold, and they shall multiply.

Ezekiel 36:24 For I will take you from the nations, and gather you from all the countries, and bring you into your own land.

Ezekiel 34:12,13 As a shepherd seeks out his flock when some of his sheep have been scattered abroad, so will I seek out my sheep; and I will rescue them from all places where they have been scattered on a day of clouds and thick darkness. And I will bring them out from the peoples, and gather them from the countries, and will bring them into their own land.

Zechariah 7:13,14 and 10:8,9 "As I called, and they would not hear, so they called, and I would not hear," says the Lord of hosts, "and I scattered them with a whirlwind among all the nations which they had not known. Thus the land they left was desolate, so that no one went to and fro, and the pleasant land was made desolate." (10:8,9) "I will signal for them and gather them in, for I have redeemed them, and they shall be as many as of old. Though I scattered them among the nations, yet in far countries they shall remember me, and with their children they shall live and return."

LOOK AT THE DISCIPLES

The Bible is where we learn about Jesus and His disciples. After Jesus returned to Heaven, He charged His followers with the task of telling the world about Him. If Jesus had not even existed, do you think that the disciples would really have become martyrs for a made-up character? They paid a heavy price and would not back down from their testimony when it caused them great suffering to the point of death. People do not die for some made-up character.

LOOK AT THE STANDARD THE BIBLE SETS

Some people claim that the Bible is just made up to keep people in line. We do have such a book, and that is the Quran. Consider that if human beings wrote the Bible, it would not hold such a high standard for human behavior. Love your enemies, do good to those that hate you, and do not repay evil for evil are not human ideas. No way. Being faithful to one wife is not something that men would think of either (we see that the Quran allows men multiple wives).

LOOK AT THE CLAIMS MADE BY JESUS

Consider that the leaders of other religions never claimed to be THE source of salvation, or claimed to be the Son of God. Even Mohammad is said to be God's "Messenger". Either Jesus was a crazy person (and as we said, His followers did not die for some crazy person - they knew who they were witnessing about), or else Jesus was who He said He was. No leader of any other religion made the claims that Jesus made. None of them could say, "I AM THE WAY<>

LOOK AT ARCHAEOLOGICAL DISCOVERIES

The Lachish Tablets describe Nebuchadnezzar's invasion of Judah which the Bible tells of, and occurred around 588 B. C.

The Cyrus Cylinder authenticates the Biblical description of Cyrus's decree to allow the Jews to rebuild the temple in Jerusalem (see 2 Chronicles 36)

The Moabite Stone gives information about Omri, whom the Bible lists as the 6th king of Israel. It dates from 850 B. C. and parallels II Kings 1 and 3.

The Black Obelisk of Shalmaneser III illustrates how Jehu, king of Israel had to submit to the Assyrian king

The Taylor Prism contains an Assyrian text which details Sennacherib's attack on Jerusalem during the time of Hezekiah. It is in the British Museum.

The City of Jericho has been found and excavated.

The Mari Letters include about 20,000 clay tablets written in Old Babylonian dialect dating from around 1,700 B. C. They come from the region that was home to the Patriarchs before going to Canaan, and often mentions "Nahor" which is the city where Abraham's servant went to in order to find a wife for Isaac (Genesis 24:10)

LOOK AT ANCIENT HISTORIAN WRITINGS

Cornelius Tacitus (55-120 A.D.) was an historian of Rome in the 1st century and was considered one of the most accurate historians of the ancient world. He tells us that Nero, a Roman Emperor, "inflicted the most exquisite tortures on a class - called Christians" and "Christus [Christ] from whom the name had its origin, suffered the extreme penalty during the reign of Tiberius at the hands of one of our procurators, Pontius Pilate."

Flavius Josephus (38-100 A.D.) was a Jewish historian and was devoted to Vespasian (a Roman ruler). He writes about Jesus that he was, "a wise man who did surprising feats, taught many, won over followers from among Jews and Greeks, was believed to be the Messiah, was accused by the Jewish leaders, was condemned to be crucified by Pilate, and was considered to be resurrected."

Suetonius (71-135) was a prominent Roman historian. In his writing, "The Life of Claudius" he wrote about Nero inflicting punishment on the Christians "as a class of men given to new and mischievous superstition".

Thallus (50-75 A.D.) was a Samaritan, and associate of Tiberius, and a scrupulous historian. Only a few fragments of his writing survived, but in those he records "on the whole world there pressed a fearful darkness, and the rocks were rent by an earthquake, and many places in Judea and other districts were thrown down." Thallus calls this darkness an eclipse of the sun in his 3rd book of his Histories. We know of this through another historian, Julius Africanus whose writings question the eclipse, saying, "an eclipse cannot happen at Passover when the moon is full and therefore diametrically opposed to the sun."

While I am sure this list is not comprehensive, it is at least something to think about when a person questions the authenticity of the Bible. Over time, advancements and discoveries come to prove the truths already found in the Bible. When the Bible does not seem to make sense, the fault is with us and our lack of understanding. But the Word is God is tried and true.

Inward and Outward

A question has come up concerning spiritual gifts, as referred to in Romans 12:6-8. So far, we have not talked about this in the Bible study group. I believe that it is important to lay a firm foundation in the ways of God before getting caught up in who has what gifting. That will come. But the danger of putting the gifts before having a deep inward rich spiritual life with God is that one might end up like the Corinthian Church. Full of gifts, yet carnal. We end up as Paul said in 1 Corinthians 13:1

"I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal."

Laying the foundation of love for God, and love for each other is crucial. We all have heard of people who have been turned off by "Christians" like that - who appear to be hypocrites to others because they lack humility and sincerity. It is obvious when someone does not have their inner life grounded by the inward working of the Holy Spirit's graces. Not only does it do harm to the witness of God in their life, but it also robs them of their heavenly rewards. In Matthew 6:19-21 Jesus tells us,

"Don't lay up for yourself treasures upon earth, where moth and rust corrupts and thieves break through and steal. But lay up for yourself treasures in heaven, where moths nor rust corrupts and where thieves do not break through nor steal. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also."

The fact that God is more concerned with our inward state (which then becomes outwardly manifest in our behavior) than He is with our "gifting" in and of itself is, evident in multitudes of
Scriptures. The one Scripture that I am reminded of that speaks strongly about this is in Matthew 7:23

Not every one that says to me , Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that does the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, haven't we prophesied in your name? and in you name haven't we cast out devils? and in you name haven't we done many wonderful works? And then I will say unto them, I never knew you. Depart from me, you that work iniquity.

Every time I read that Scripture it is sobering to me. Imagine the Lord saying, "I never knew you." Apparently these people were doing outward works, and proclaiming His Name. But they did not have that inward foundation. That is the true riches of a deeply intimate relationship with our Father. This is where the foundation comes from that enables us to do the works that are acceptable to Him. As Jesus said, when you pray, go into your inner chamber and pray in secret. When you give alms, give in secret. Without the inner spiritual riches, we will be to others as sounding brass and tinkling cymbals. As Jesus told us, the kingdom of God is within you. Turn your attention inward today to see that there is peace with God and a deep inward witness. Is there joy within? Let the Spirit of God water your spirit today. Be refreshed by His indwelling Presence. Let Him be "enough" for you today.