Tag: died

45.t. “Wilderness” – 9.z. “Unauthorized fire before the LORD”

 

Numbers 3:1-4  These are the generations of Aaron and Moses at the time when the LORD spoke with Moses on Mount Sinai. These are the names of the sons of Aaron: Nadab the firstborn, and Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar.  These are the names of the sons of Aaron, the anointed priests, whom he ordained to serve as priests.  But Nadab and Abihu died before the LORD when they offered unauthorized fire before the LORD in the wilderness of Sinai, and they had no children. So Eleazar and Ithamar served as priests in the lifetime of Aaron their father.

Lev 10:1-7  – 1 Then Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, each took his censer and put fire in it, put incense on it, and offered profane fire before the LORD, which He had not commanded them. 2 So fire went out from the LORD and devoured them, and they died before the LORD. 3 And Moses said to Aaron, “This is what the LORD spoke, saying: ‘By those who come near Me I must be regarded as holy; And before all the people I must be glorified.’ ” So Aaron held his peace. 4 Then Moses called Mishael and Elzaphan, the sons of Uzziel the uncle of Aaron, and said to them, “Come near, carry your brethren from before the sanctuary out of the camp.” 5 So they went near and carried them by their tunics out of the camp, as Moses had said. 6 And Moses said to Aaron, and to Eleazar and Ithamar, his sons, “Do not uncover your heads nor tear your clothes, lest you die, and wrath come upon all the people. But let your brethren, the whole house of Israel, bewail the burning which the LORD has kindled. 7 “You shall not go out from the door of the tabernacle of meeting, lest you die, for the anointing oil of the LORD [is] upon you.” And they did according to the word of Moses.

What was their sin in thus offering it? Plainly, the narrative points to the essence of the crime in calling it ‘fire which He had not commanded.’ So this was their crime, that they were tampering with the appointed order which but a week before they had been consecrated to conserve and administer; that they were thus thrusting in self-will and personal caprice, as of equal authority with the divine commandment; that they were arrogating the right to cut and carve God’s appointments, as the whim or excitement of the moment dictated; and that they were doing their best to obliterate the distinction on the preservation of which religion, morality, and the national existence depended; namely, the distinction between holy and common, clean and unclean. To plough that distinction deep into the national consciousness was no small part of the purpose of the law; and here were two of its appointed witnesses disregarding it, and flying in its face.  They have had many successors, not only in Israel, while a ritual demanding punctilious conformity lasted, but in Christendom since. Alas! our censers are often flaming with ‘strange fire.’ How much so-called Christian worship glows with self-will or with partisan zeal! When we seek to worship God for what we can get, when we rush into His presence with hot, eager desires which we have not subordinated to His will, we are burning ‘strange fire which He has not commanded.’ The only fire which should kindle the incense in our censers, and send it up to heaven in fragrant wreaths, is fire caught from the altar of sacrifice. God must kindle the flame in our hearts if we are to render these else cold hearts to Him. (MacLaren)

This may be an emblem of dissembled love, when a man performs religious duties, prays to God, or praises him without any cordial affection to him, or obeys commands not from love, but selfish views; or of an ignorant, false, and misguided zeal, a zeal not according to knowledge, superstitious and hypocritical; or of false and strange doctrines, such as are not of God, nor agree with the voice of Christ, and are foreign to the Scriptures; or of human ordinances, and the inventions of men, and of everything that man brings of his own, in order to obtain eternal life and salvation. (Gill)

Hearing and reading God’s Word must come into willing, obedient, and reliant hearts. If not we will have worldly desires of what is right and wrong and try to mix the Word of God with that which is not ordained by God, nor does it give Honor and Glory to Him. The Word of God has little benefit in a disobedient heart that is set on its own desires and paths in life. Without a desire to be led by God for the single purpose of honoring and glorifying Him our hearts and minds become dull and our ears deaf and our hearts like stone. It is easy to spot and identify the first steps away from God that lead to such lukewarm commitment – Neglect and Complacency. The loss of desire to honor and glorify God is always preceded by a lacking desire to honor and glorify Him in all thoughts, words, and actions, which is closely followed by neglect of His Word. We might live content with our place in life but we should never be content with our growth, maturity, and service to God.

38.v. “Satan, who is the god of this world, has blinded the minds of those who don’t believe.”

 

 

Ephesians 2:1  As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins,

1 Corinthians 2:14  The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit.

2 Corinthians 4:4 Satan, who is the god of this world, has blinded the minds of those who don’t believe. They are unable to see the glorious light of the Good News. They don’t understand this message about the glory of Christ, who is the exact likeness of God.

2 Timothy 2:26  and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will.

Ephesians 4:17-18 So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking. They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts.

Romans 5:6-11  For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.

Colossians 1:21-22  And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him, if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard

 John 3:18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.

Acts 26:18  to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’

Ephesians 5:8 for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light

Colossians 1:13  He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

1 Peter 2:9  But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.

I read this statement this morning on “Regeneration” Faith/Repentance

“Regeneration, or the new birth, is a work of God’s grace whereby believers become new creatures in Christ Jesus. It is a change of heart wrought by the Holy Spirit through conviction of sin, to which the sinner responds in repentance toward God and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Repentance and faith are inseparable experiences of grace. “Repentance is a genuine turning from sin toward God. Faith is the acceptance of Jesus Christ and commitment of the entire personality to Him and Lord and Savior.” Regeneration is necessary because the Bible describes unbelievers as the walking dead. Not only are they spiritually dead, but they are depicted as natural / without the Spirit; blinded in their minds; bound by Satan; alienated from God; enemies of the Lord; condemned in their unbelief; and in spiritual darkness.

36.l. “These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth.”

 

 

Genesis 15:7  And he said to him, “I am the LORD who brought you out from Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to possess.” But he said, “O Lord GOD, how am I to know that I shall possess it?” He said to him, “Bring me a heifer three years old, a female goat three years old, a ram three years old, a turtledove, and a young pigeon.” And he brought him all these, cut them in half, and laid each half over against the other. But he did not cut the birds in half. And when birds of prey came down on the carcasses, Abram drove them away. As the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell on Abram. And behold, dreadful and great darkness fell upon him. Then the LORD said to Abram, “Know for certain that your offspring will be sojourners in a land that is not theirs and will be servants there, and they will be afflicted for four hundred years. But I will bring judgment on the nation that they serve, and afterward they shall come out with great possessions. As for you, you shall go to your fathers in peace; you shall be buried in a good old age. And they shall come back here in the fourth generation, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.”

 Psalms 105:23-25    Then Israel came to Egypt; Jacob sojourned in the land of Ham.  And the LORD made his people very fruitful and made them stronger than their foes.  He turned their hearts to hate his people, to deal craftily with his servants.

 Leviticus 19:34     You shall treat the stranger who sojourns with you as the native among you, and you shall love him as yourself, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God.

 Deuteronomy 10:19    Love the sojourner, therefore, for you were sojourners in the land of Egypt.

 Acts 7:6-7   And God spoke to this effect—that his offspring would be sojourners in a land belonging to others, who would enslave them and afflict them four hundred years.  ‘But I will judge the nation that they serve,’ said God, ‘and after that they shall come out and worship me in this place.’

 Hebrews 11:13    These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth.

“A Divine covenant is not a mutual agreement on equal terms between two parties, but a Divine promise assured.” (Maclaren)

A deep sleep fell upon Abram; with this sleep a horror of great darkness fell upon him: a sudden change. The children of light do not always walk in the light. Several things were then foretold. 1. The suffering state of Abram’s seed for a long time. They shall be strangers. The heirs of heaven are strangers on earth. They shall be servants; but Canaanites serve under a curse, the Hebrews under a blessing. They shall be suffers. Those that are blessed and beloved of God, are often sorely afflicted by wicked men. 2. The judgment of the enemies of Abram’s seed. Though God may allow persecutors and oppressors to trample upon his people a great while, he will certainly reckon with them at last. 3. That great event, the deliverance of Abram’s seed out of Egypt, is here foretold. 4. Their happy settlement in Canaan. They shall come hither again. The measure of sin fills gradually. Some people’s measure of sin fills slowly. The knowledge of future events would seldom add to our comfort. In the most favoured families, and most happy lives, there are so many afflictions, that it is merciful in God to conceal what will befall us and ours. (Henry)

Four hundred years are to elapse before the seed of Abram shall actually proceed to take possession of the land. This interval can only commence when the seed is born; that is, at the birth of Isaac, when Abram was a hundred years of age and therefore thirty years after the call. During this interval they are to be, “first, strangers in a land not theirs” for one hundred and ninety years; and then for the remaining two hundred and ten years in Egypt: at first, servants, with considerable privilege and position; and at last, afflicted serfs, under a hard and cruel bondage. (Barnes)

By this revelation Abram had the future history of his seed pointed out to him in general outlines, and was informed at the same time why neither he nor his descendants could obtain immediate possession of the promised land, viz., because the Canaanites were not yet ripe for the sentence of extermination. (Keil and Delitzsch )

Nothing is past, present, or future is hidden from God. He knows all things past, present, and future. There is nothing that escapes His knowing. When God’s Word promises us that He will never leave us or forsake us it is with all this past, present, and future knowing in mind.  He is god. He is more than able. Who can stop what He has put into motion? Who can start what He has stopped? The place where we find rest, peace, and joy is trusting and relying on Him alone. There is no other place where rest, peace, and joy can be found no matter how hard we try to find it in other places. For sure we will pass through times of hardships and disappointments but our God is with us and will be our rock, fortress, and refuge. If we look to Him, it is then we will find peace that passes all understanding. 

27.d. “Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions.”

 

 

Ephesians 2:4  But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

 Nehemiah 9:17  They refused to obey and were not mindful of the wonders that you performed among them, but they stiffened their neck and appointed a leader to return to their slavery in Egypt. But you are a God ready to forgive, gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and did not forsake them.

 Psalms 51:1   Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions.

 Isaiah 55:6-8    “Seek the LORD while he may be found; call upon him while he is near;  let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the LORD, that he may have compassion on him, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.  For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD.

 Psalms 103:8-11   The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.  He will not always chide, nor will he keep his anger forever.  He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities.  For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him;

 Romans 5:8    but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

 Romans 3:24    and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,

“As they were corrupt in their nature, and sinful in their practice, they could possess no merit, nor have any claim upon God; and it required much mercy to remove so much misery, and to pardon such transgressions.” (Clarke)  Every reason for God’s mercy and love is found in Him. We give Him no reason to love us, yet in the greatness of His love, He loves us with that great love anyway. Therefore, we must stop trying to make ourselves lovable to God, and simply receive His great love while recognizing that we are unworthy of it. This is the grace secret of the Christian life. (Guzik) He did not wait until we were lovable. He loved us even when we were dead in trespasses, providing nothing lovable to Him. The work of God’s grace, in no way involving man’s merit. Our salvation – our rescue – from spiritual death is God’s work done for the undeserving.

Stop trying to earn God’s love and grace.  You never can and never will.  Stop keeping a ledger book of all your good and bad deeds in your head hoping the good will outweigh the bad, but rather confess them, repent from them, and lean on Jesus Christ alone. When we willfully choose to disobey God, (knowingly sin), there is no other way to erase it but through trusting in Him alone and resting on His forgiveness, grace, and love. One way to see the greatness of the grace of God is to see how He begs man to receive it. When we offer a gift to someone and they refuse it, we are likely to allow them to refuse and leave them alone. God does not do this with us; even when we refuse His mercy He reaches into His storehouse of grace and persists with us, begging us to receive the free gift. He pursues us. He stands at the door of our hearts and knocks asking to be let in.  It is in the rejection of God’s grace and mercy whereby people will spend eternity in Hell.

26.x. “Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth”

Galatians 6:14  But far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. For neither circumcision counts for anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creation. And as for all who walk by this rule, peace and mercy be upon them, and upon the Israel of God.

 Philippians 3:3   For we are the circumcision, who worship by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh—

 Philippians 3:7-11     But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ.  Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ  and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith—  that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death,  that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.

 Romans 6:6    We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin.

 Colossians 3:1-3    If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.  Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.  For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.

 1 John 5:4-5   For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith.  Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?

Paul’s heart cared nothing for the glory that came from fame. He cared nothing for the glory that came from riches. He cared nothing for the glory that came from status and power among men. He only cared about the glory of the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. Paul wrote about having crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Now with the flesh on the cross he also put the world on the cross, and considers himself dead to the world. The world could not have any influence over Paul if it were dead, and Paul could not respond to any influence from it if he were dead to the world. The world, in the sense Paul means it here, was not the global earth; nor was it the mass of humanity (which God Himself loves, John 3:16). Instead, it was the community of sinful humanity that is united in rebellion against God. (Guzik) 

The battle between fleshly/worldly and things of God is very real.  Sometimes it becomes hard to bring these two differences into focus. The fleshly and worldly make promises it can not keep (purpose, satisfaction, power, wisdom, honor, glory, worthiness).  These are promises filled with deceit.  As soon as some portion is reached, it fades as fast as it came. It consumes time, both physically and mentally.  It will rob your heart, exhausting your soul, and fill you with emptiness.  It presents itself as our friend who wants to fill our minds with what it thinks is important.  It gains foundational roots in our hearts from the minute we were born into this world.  It hides exposure by subtle watering and fertilization of the lusts and wants of our sinful nature.  It produces worthless sour and bitter fruit that fills the heart and mind but never satisfies. It convinces the heart and mind that it is sweet as honey and you want/need more of it.  

The greatest gift from God was His grace, mercy, and love found in and through Jesus Christ.  He offers salvation, redemption, and forgiveness to those who would believe, trust, repent and obey.  In His mercy, grace, and love He offers life more abundantly, a purpose for the heavenly, and the power of the Holy Spirit to discern and fight off/resist the fleshly/worldly.   Without discernment, it is very hard to recognize what is worldly and of the flesh.  To have discernment requires you to know the difference between what you see, hear, think, say, and do.  How is a person discern whether or not what they see, hear, think, say, and do is fleshly/worldly or godly/heavenly.  Every waking moment the eyes and ears to our hearts, minds, and souls are blasted with the worldly and fleshly. These fiery darts come at us every second of every moment.  Everyone is targeted.  Not a second goes by where there is not an attack on your soul.  The problem is having the ability to discern them.  God’s Word is our shield against the onslaught of lies and deception of the worldly/fleshly.  Yet, how many are prepared for the battle for their soul?  How many Christians bring up the Shield of His Word on Sundays but live every other day without its defense?  How many fiery darts have punched the heart and soul and the person is not even aware they are seriously wounded? Do we expect God to give us discernment when we neglect His Word?  It is through His Word we find true, hope, peace, strength, joy, love, and purpose and satisfaction for our soul.  The lies, false hopes and promises, fear, anger, anxiousness, worries, and the shallowness of what the flesh and worldly have to offer are exposed. It is not the spending of time reading His Word, but rather this with a pure foundation of seeking and desiring things of God to honor and glorify Him alone. We will never find the Holy Spirit giving discernment when the heart and mind are set on things of the flesh and this world.  How can we say the desires and promises of this world are crucified to me when we can’t even discern the difference between what it offers and things of God?

24.u. “In the twinkling of an eye”

1 Corinthians 15:51  Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality.

 1 Thessalonians 4:14-17    For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep.  For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep.  For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first.  Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord.

 2 Peter 3:10    But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed.

 Matthew 24:31    And he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

In the Biblical sense, a mystery is simply a thing to be understood by spiritual, rather than by merely human perception. Paul will tell the Corinthian Christians something they could not have known by reason or research. They could not have known this unless God revealed it to them.

 In a single moment, Jesus will gather His people (both dead and on the earth) to Himself, for resurrection. There will come a day when in God’s eternal plan, He gives those dead in the Lord their resurrection bodies, and then in an instant He gathers all His people to meet Jesus in the air. All the redeemed on the earth at that time will rise up to meet the Lord in the clouds, and will receive their resurrection bodies.  Ironside says that the last trumpet was a figure of speech that came from the Roman military, when they broke camp. The first trumpet meant, “strike the tents and prepare to leave”; the second trumpet meant, “fall into line”; the third and last trumpet meant “march away.”

Are you anticipating the last trumpet?  Are you ready to hear it?  Are you ready to face death and enter eternity?  Surrender your entire life to humbly serve, honor, follow, obey, trust, and rely in Jesus Christ.  There is no other way to enter eternity in heaven.  

19.m. “Sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin”

Romans 5:12   Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned— for sin indeed was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not counted where there is no law. Yet death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sinning was not like the transgression of Adam, who was a type of the one who was to come.

But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if many died through one man’s trespass, much more have the grace of God and the free gift by the grace of that one man Jesus Christ abounded for many. And the free gift is not like the result of that one man’s sin. For the judgment following one trespass brought condemnation, but the free gift following many trespasses brought justification. For if, because of one man’s trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ. Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men. For as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous. Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, so that, as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Sin came into the world through Adam. Adam chose to disobey God.   He willingly chose to reject what God had said.  Through this single act of disobedience, sin and death came into the world.  We look at the pandemic around the world and we know the death rate is 1.4% of those who get infected.  This means there is a 98.6% chance of survival.  Those are pretty good odds of living.  The death rate of “sin” is 100%.  All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.  Our sin infection will result in death.  It is an absolute certainty.  The urgency for a remedy, treatment, or cure that resulted because of COVID is not uncommon because there is a fear of untimely death.  Think about the urgency given to an infection that has a 98.6% survival rate.  Does that make any sense at all?  Think about the certainty of death because of sin, 100%.  When you consider the difference in magnitude of a 100% death rate compared to a 1.4% death rate, you have to wonder or be curious why there is so much urgency over a 1.4% death rate and little to no urgency given by many over the absolute certainty of death because of sin.  Experts are not certain of the infection rate of COVID, but the certainty of the infection of sin and resulting death are both 100%.

Governments, businesses, and people have invested hundreds of billions of dollars to find a cure for an infection that has a 1.4% chance of resulting in death.  Paul is explaining, to the Roman Christians that every single person is infected with sin.  There is no escaping it and this infection will, with 100% absolute assurance, result in death. 

Physical death will usher us into eternity.  God’s word says all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.  The penalty of sin is death and the verdict of eternity in Hell.  It does not matter how you die – all will die.  What truly matters is where you will spend eternity.  Many think that we live, we die, that is the end and there is nothing more.  They believe the lie that this life on earth is all there is and it is over.  Chapters 1-2 make it clear that God is real and that there is more to life after death and that we will be judged.   Denying and rejecting God does not make it so – it is 100% certain.  Denying and rejecting the coming judgment does not make it so – it is 100% certain.  

What is a person to do?  There is a 100% assurance of sin infection at birth.  There is a 100% assurance of death because of sin.  There is 100% assurance of going to hell because of sin.  What will you do?  There is a remedy given by God through Jesus Christ, that not only cancels the judgment of eternity in hell but removes all of the stains of sin before God’s eyes.  Our sin is washed away.  

When a safe vaccine is given that has been proven to protect and prevent us from getting a disease the only way you are protected is when you take the vaccine.  Likewise, the only way your sin is washed clean and eternal life in heaven is assured is when you take hold of the free gift of grace mercy, and love by believing you are sin infected at birth, the result of this is death and eternity in hell, there is nothing humanly possible to overcome sin or the judgment of God, that God sent His Son to remedy (pay the price) your sin and the verdict of eternity in hell, repenting of sin, seeking forgiveness, and that by believing (trusting in, relying on, and clinging to) Jesus Christ by faith.  There is no hope of protection from disease when the vaccine is not taken and yet many think there is hope over God’s judgment by denying it will happen or that they will be good enough to overcome it.   There is only one way to overcome the disease of sin – Jesus Christ.

19.l. “But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners”

Romans 5:6  For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.

Isaiah 53:6   All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.

 1 John 4:9-10   In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him.  In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

While we were helpless and with no hope and at the right time God sent His Son to die (redeem) the ungodly.  This does not mean God universally saved all of mankind, but that His Son, Jesus Christ, universally paid the price that universally saves all who would believe.  There has to be a connection between what Jesus did and each individual person.  This connection is belief first.  Without belief in God, His Son, and the need for His Son, Jesus Christ, to die for you, then there is no need for Him.  Some may say that they believe in God but they have never come to the place where they realize the need for Jesus Christ.  They may even say they get more and more convinced about God the older they get and still they do not come to the place where they know they need Jesus Christ.  Still, others, as they get older, get bolder and bolder in their denial and rejection of God.  What good is the death of Jesus if you do not see a personal need?  If all you see is a universal general payment for the sin of mankind then the point of His death is still missed.  The death of Jesus, for your personal sin, must be a known heart-deep certainty.  If it is not personal then His death has no benefit for you other than to judge you unwilling to believe your need and for His death a full once and for all payment (redemption and forgiveness) for your sin.   Once you come to the point where you know the need, then by faith you trust in, cling to, and rely solely on Him.  There is nothing you can do to earn it.  It is a free gift of grace, mercy, and love.  There is no work you can do to become worthy of it.  Belief and faith are the work God has established for redemption, salvation, and forgiveness through Jesus Christ.  You can’t vow your way there.  You can’t do enough good to get there.  

While we were helpless, lost, disobedient, rebellious, selfish, self-centered, self-righteous, self-worthy, and self-reliant, God, out of grace, mercy, and love, sent His only Son, Jesus Christ, to die for the redemption, salvation, and forgiveness.  While we were yet sinners.  We had nothing to do with why God purposed this act of overwhelming love toward us.  It is only out of His grace, mercy, and love.  There is no earning this.  If we did not earn it, then it was not due us, and if it was not due us then it is a gift from God.  This gift is offered to each and every person, but they are never required to take it.  Eternal life in heaven awaits those who accept this gift of redemption through Jesus Christ.  The very hand of God is offering this gift of eternal life and how sad is it that the gift from the God of the universe is so easily cast aside and deemed unworthy of our self-centered lives?

17.o. Sitting at the feet of Jesus

John 12:1   Six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus lived, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. Here a dinner was given in Jesus’ honor. Martha served, while Lazarus was among those reclining at the table with him. Then Mary took about a pint of pure nard, an expensive perfume; she poured it on Jesus’ feet and wiped his feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. But one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, who was later to betray him, objected, “Why wasn’t this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It was worth a year’s wages.” He did not say this because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief; as keeper of the money bag, he used to help himself to what was put into it.

Luke 10:39   And she had a sister called Mary, who also sat at Jesus’* feet and heard His word.

John 11:32    Then, when Mary came where Jesus was, and saw Him, she fell down at His feet, saying to Him, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.”

Mary has sat at the feet of Jesus and learned.  She sat at His feet in mournful surrender. And she sat at His feet and honored Him with oil.  How can we learn if we do not spend time listening with a desire to hear Him speak?  How can we surrender our broken heart at His feet if we don’t believe in His comfort in a time of grief?  How can we honor Him if we do not know and see His holiness and worthiness?

Outside of the betrayal of Jesus, Judas is only mentioned in the New Testament here for doing/saying something that would indicate his heart was not right. We do not know if the disciples knew that Judas was a thief.  This may have been hidden from them or not.  John indicates he knew he was helping himself to the money given to them and their ministry with Jesus.  Was it greed that overcame Judas’s heart?  Is this how satan took a foothold? We need to be mindful that sin is the fishing pond of satan.  Once hooked no amount of thrashing about will calm these troubled waters unless there is complete surrender to and belief in Jesus Christ.