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As the Lord led me to write about earlier this month and celebrate from Palm through Resurrection Sunday, God’s Messiah was foretold by Him through His Jewish prophets in the Bible to come twice.1 The first coming of God’s Messiah, Jesus of Nazareth, during the first century A.D. was all about sacrificing Himself to save willing mankind from our sins. He finished this part of the mission on Calvary’s cross with His death. After His burial, resurrection and ascension back to glory, at God’s appointed future time He is slated to return “a second time” to fulfill every promise of salvation God has made to those of us who have put our faith in and wait on Him (Hebrews 9:28b, NKJV).
“Scoffers” living captive “to their own lusts” as foretold, for nearly 2,000 years have scoffed at the faith of faithful Christians in our willingness to wait on “the promise of His coming.” “They willfully forget” the Bible’s instruction on God’s mighty Word in creation and past visitation in destructive wrath using water; foretelling of yet another to come with fire in judging earth’s “ungodly men,” (2 Peter 3:1-7, NKJV). What the scoffers and apparently many professed Christians also fail to realize is that the return of Messiah has been purposely delayed by God this long out of His love and “longsuffering” to save the willing He foreknows from His wrath and eternal damnation (2 Peter 3:8-9, NKJV).2
As the apostle Peter soberly warns, the return of Messiah entails the outpour of God’s wrath in the eternal onset of “the day of the Lord” as earth is reclaimed for His dominion from fallen angels and men, then later, destroyed to make way for “new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells,” (2 Peter 3:10-15; Revelation 11:15-19, 21:1-8, NKJV). His wrath does not fully unfold, however, until after Messiah gathers His two elects--Israel’s mortal remnant and His followers from all nations--to Himself (Mark 13:24-27; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-5:11, NKJV).3 These events fulfilled are among the promises of salvation God has made to both elects in His Word!
The next promises of salvation to be immediately enjoyed by the faithful followers of Messiah gathered to Him from Heaven who are resurrected and those relative few mortals alive on earth at His Second Coming are glorified immortal bodies and eternal righteousness (1 Corinthians 15:50-57; 2 Timothy 4:8)! For in God’s justification by grace through our faith in Messiah looking to that Day, is our being clothed now, with His righteousness as both a spiritual position we occupy and experience we have despite the endless attempts of sin to reassert its dominion over us with the aid of Satan and his temptations we are to vigorously resist (Romans 6-8:17; Galatians 5:16-25; 1 Peter 5:8-11).
Thus, in Messiah Jesus, I am a sinner made righteous in the sight of God through faith and understand myself to be a righteous man who sins when I do in the weakness of the sinful flesh. In sin, I confess and repent of it availing myself of God’s readiness to forgive and cleanse me through the finished work of Messiah on Calvary’s cross as often as needed (Hebrews 4:14-16; 1 John 1:5-2:2). So, when I say I am a sinner to sinners as a Christian, it is not because I am going about practicing sin as a way life any longer, but I am humbly and honestly acknowledging that I still sin as one redeemed by and righteous before God in my mortal journey toward perfection!4
Today, secular films and television programming regularly mock and belittle God’s social and moral order He established at creation for the good of mankind in favor of what they call “progressive” correctives, but which are evil. Contrarily, another promise of salvation Messiah will fulfill in the Day of His Second Coming is the restoration of God’s will and way now, declared in His Word across every aspect of surviving mortal human earth existence in which He will reign as King and Judge (Psalm 72; Micah 4:1-3; Matthew 25:31-46).5 Indeed, we His glorified redeemed followers and saints from all time will reign and judge with Him (Psalm 149; Revelation 1:4-8, 2:26-29, 5:8-10, 20:4-6)!6
At the end of Messiah’s millennial reign in this present earth and age, by His Father’s election as God and Man, He shall resurrect “those who have done evil” and judge for eternity every human who has ever existed that He had not already judged (John 5:16-30; 1 Corinthians 15:20-23; 2 Corinthians 5:9-11; 1 Peter 4:1-5; Revelation 19:11-21, 20:11-15, 22:12-15, NKJV).7 Daniel in his book where we started back on January 9th this year among the prophets of the Bible were shown the coming resurrections of the righteous and the wicked along with their final judgment by Messiah (Daniel 12:2-3).8 Clearly, things will not go well in the judgment to eternal fire for the unsaved who have shown contempt for God’s Word. But the saved who love God’s Word will delight in it forever!
1 See the April 3, 2022 post, Messiah Comes Twice: Once For Sin, under the category, The Faith.
2 Read the two-part post beginning July 18, 2021, No Repentance, No Peace, under the category, Call To Repent. Also, consider the February 6, 2022 post, The Divine Delay, under the category, Bible Prophecy, to appreciate if you will, that as He gave sinful humanity in Noah’s day time to repent and be saved from His wrath, so, all in these last days since He offered up His own Son on the cross to make our salvation possible nearly 2,000 years ago!
3 See the August 15, 2021 post, The Honor Of Bypassing Death, under the category, Bible Prophecy.
4 The Christian journey toward perfection is about allowing God to make us over into the image of Messiah Jesus, His Son. This is the rallying cry and content of my book, The Strong Man Of God: Back To Basics and its companion Strong Man Of God Men’s Group Study as well as Great Woman Of God Women’s Group Study all available in the Strong Man Store, at your favorite internet bookseller or brick and mortar bookstore.
5 That’s right! The same transcendent eternal spiritual principles, morality and ethics contained in the Bible the wicked now, mock and belittle as well as many professed Christians corrupt and compromise, will be put in play and enforced by Messiah since as He Himself teaches, neither the content of God’s Law or any of His Words will fail to endure forever (Matthew 5:17-20, 24:35)! See the August 1, 2021 post, Jesus Christ King And Judge!, under the category, Instruction.
6 Read the August 8, 2021 post, Kings And Judges With Christ, under the category, Encouragement.
7 Behold the perfect justice of God the Father to allow His Son, Jesus, as perfect Man to judge His fellow man (Acts 17:29-31)!
8 See the January 9, 2022 post, Easier To Read Bibles, under the categories Bible Prophecy and Instruction.
In the post the Lord led me to write, The Right Side Of History, I am blessed by Him to present and explore His timeline vision of events given to Daniel that lead to the end of this present age.1 Among those events is the singularly most important of all: the variously foretold coming of God’s Messiah to Israel that was fulfilled in the Person of Jesus of Nazareth! All along God had planned what His Jewish prophets did not realize: that the Messiah they spoke of would come twice. His first coming would be to offer Himself for sin. Then, at God’s appointed time after His death, burial, resurrection and ascension, He would return to fulfill the many promises of salvation.
Neither the prophets before nor first century Jews while He walked among them understood about the first coming of Messiah until they were illumined by Him and the Holy Spirit after His resurrection (Daniel 9:24-26a; Luke 18:31-34, 24:44-49; John 16:5-15; Acts 2:1-39, 3:11-26). Among those the Holy Spirit uses to unveil God’s mystery of Messiah’s two comings is the apostle Paul who formerly persecuted Jewish believers until he became one (1 Corinthians 15:1-11; 1 Timothy 1:12-17) and the absolutely known to God writer of Hebrews (Hebrews 1:1-4). Paul unfolds why it was necessary for the Messiah to come first to deal with sin (Romans 3:9-31, 5:6-21, 6:15-23).
In warning any flagging in their faith (Hebrews 2:1-4), the writer of Hebrews goes deeper into the details of Messiah’s first coming for sin in terms His Spirit-filled Jewish and Gentile followers could appreciate and be encouraged to faithfulness (Hebrews 2:5-3, 4:14-16, 6:9-20, 8, 9:11-22). For it was to save man from sin and redeem us back to God that Messiah came “once at the end of the ages…to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself. And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment, so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many,” (Hebrews 9:23-28a, NKJV). To this end, the prophets including Daniel were shown His suffering and death (Isaiah 52:13-53:9).
The accomplishment of this first part of His mission is bound up in His final words from the cross, ‘“It is finished,’” (John 19:30, NKJV)! His words also telegraph the successful achievement to follow of every other purpose of God involved in sending Messiah, His Son, into the world; even Jesus--praise His name (Matthew 1:18-21), whom God raised from the dead on the third day as He foretold and signaled through the prophets as well (Psalm 16:8-11; Isaiah 53:10-12; Matthew 12:38-42, 16:21)! So now, at the Lord’s command after His resurrection and ascension the Gospel about Him has been preached nearly 20 centuries to earth’s ends and mankind exhorted to be saved from sin by faith in Him (Matthew 28:18-20; Acts 1:4-11; Romans 1:16-17, 10:1-13; Hebrews 10:1-23).2
1 See the January 30, 2022 post, The Right Side Of History, under the categories Bible Prophecy and Biblical Worldview.
2 To hear a straightforward, biblical presentation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ for yourself and perhaps, with someone you care about, please view one or both of our 30 minute videos on this Ministry’s Strong Man Of God Online Rally YouTube Channel.
As the Director of Strong Man Ministries and lead instructor in our Strong Man Institute in-person and virtual course offerings, I am excited to announce the roll out yesterday of our Fruitful Bible Study Self-Paced Video Course on our Strong Man Virtual Institute YouTube Channel!1 With the Lord’s leading, this video course addresses the great need in His Body for knowledge of the Word through the spiritual discipline of Bible study in these latter days. For He and His apostles warned us great deception would exist in the times before His return as it does and lacking knowledge of the Word, many are being deceived and fall away as also foretold (Mark 13:3-6, 22-23; 1 Timothy 4:1-5).
Though there are many false and deceitful doctrines of demons within professing Christianity at this hour, one of the most insidious is in fact “a different gospel;” the likes of which the apostle Paul puts the purveyor under a curse of destruction and that strikes at the very heart of the Christian faith “once for all delivered to the saints,” (Galatians 1:6-10; Jude 3-4, NKJV). It asserts that God does not judge what people do in sin anymore since Christ completely atoned for human sins past, present and future on the cross. Those who know the truth from their regular, Holy Spirit led and helped study of the Bible recognize the foregoing assertion is preposterous and thoroughly false!
Truly, as Scripture teaches the Lord’s death on the cross most certainly did make a full and eternal atonement for human sin before God (Isaiah 53:10-12; John 1:29, 19:30; Hebrews 1:1-4, 2:17, 9:11-15). However, it is only the one who repents of his sins, places faith in the Gospel and is indwelt by the Holy Spirit that will be saved which Scripture also teaches (Acts 2:36-39; Romans 1:16-17, 3:21-26; 1 Corinthians 15:1-4). As it is written and cited in Romans 1:17, ‘“The just shall live by faith,’” (NKJV). There is no work or deed a sinner can do to earn salvation wrought through Christ’s sacrifice God has made available to all mankind by grace (Romans 3:27-4:25; Ephesians 2:1-10).2
I will declare it again. Although He died for all mankind, only those individuals who genuinely repent of their sins, believe the Gospel and receive new birth by the indwelling Holy Spirit, obtain salvation! Those who refuse to repent and believe the Gospel remain in their sins, will die in and face Christ’s “judgment seat” to answer for them (John 8:21-24; 2 Corinthians 5:9-11, NKJV).3 For of first importance salvation is “remission (by God’s forgiveness) of sins” upon repentance and faith in Christ (Luke 24:46-47, NKJV). Anyone who preaches anything contrary to this core, historic and biblical truth for salvation, puts themselves justly under the apostle Paul’s curse since it is a different gospel!
Now, even though no work or deed we do of ourselves prior to salvation can earn it, works and deeds afterward matter as evidence of its authenticity, fruitfulness and enduring faith in Christ which is not a one and done thing (James 2:14-26). We enter salvation through faith in the Gospel of Jesus Christ and continue living by faith in Him moment by moment going forward. Purposely practicing biblically defined sin without repentance is not proof of faith, but of possible insincere or false profession, rank disobedience which is rebellion or apostasy which can never please God who despite another false doctrine, ‘“will judge His people,’” (Hebrews 10:26-39, 11:6, NKJV)!4
Thus, even though Christ’s work to pay for human sin was finished on the cross, our responsibility before God for personal sin does not end there! For this reason, the Lord Jesus explains one must “believe in Him” whom God in love sent into the world to die for our sins in order to “not perish” and instead, “have everlasting life.” Otherwise, apart from appropriating His saving work to themselves by faith, the unsaved are “condemned already” with no other hope; their deeds certifying God’s righteousness to condemn them (John 3:16-21, NKJV).5 Also, what professed Christians do reveals whether they know Christ and bear good fruit (Matthew 7:15-23,13:1-9, 18-23).6
Indeed, the whole Word of God teaches what one does whether in sin or not during this mortal life matters to God! Consequently, every human being that has ever lived will face judgment by Jesus Christ to be rewarded accordingly--those with the fruitful deeds of faith in Him having nothing to fear (Job 34:10-15; Psalm 62:12; Proverbs 24:12; Jeremiah 17:9-10; Romans 1:28-2:11, 14:10-12, 23b; Revelation 22:12). Ours is not a made to order salvation of human construction. It has sprung from the heart and mind of the living God from eternity (1 Peter 1:13-21)! Christians must get and stay in God’s Word to recognize and avoid the many false doctrines today; careful not to even pass along sound good posts on social media from maybe well meaning sources, but that are not biblical.
1 The very first Short-Term Study from the Strong Man Virtual Institute can be viewed on its dedicated YouTube Channel. A course overview with description is provided in Session One of the six session study. While it is not required, a Study Guide is available as a free download in the Strong Man Store to help interested learners as they engage with the video course at their own pace.
2 Read the March 21, 2021 post, Good Works Cannot Save You, under the category, The Cause.
3 See the April 24, 2022 post, Messiah Comes Second For Salvation, under the category, The Faith.
4 What has death been to mankind but judgment from God who lovingly, graciously warned Adam of it as the consequence in the day of his disobedience (Genesis 2:15- 17, 3:6-11, 17-19)? And as it concerns Christians, the falsehood God does not judge what we do becomes crystal clear from faithfully reading and studying the New Testament where God is seen intentionally instilling fear of offending His holiness through willful sin after He put to death Ananias and his wife, Sapphira, on the same day for lying to Him--something many professed Christians in our times foolishly consider no big deal (Acts 5:1-11). For further reflection on God as the Judge of His people in the New Testament, read the two-part post that begins August 23, 2020, The Churches Under Judgment, under the category, Instruction.
5 There are those in Christian media and not a few pastors that refute the Bible they claim to uphold teaching God does not condemn. Some even boast that you will not hear them talk about such a thing, though the whole narrative of salvation in the Bible from Genesis to Revelation is about God saving willing mankind from our sins in light of His certain coming wrath and condemnation to Hell! Being unwilling to declare “the whole counsel of God” especially for the sake of gaining money from people who want to hear nothing but positive statements about Him for them, followers or to fill auditorium seats is fraud (Acts 20:26-31; 2 Corinthians 2:17, 4:1-2, NKJV)! It is also false teaching to deny or purposely omit the fact unrepentant sinners stand condemned before a holy God--woe to the false teachers who bring the Lord’s judgment upon themselves (2 Peter 2:1-3)! Who really cares for your soul: the one that tells you only the parts of God’s Word you like and want to hear or the one who gives you God’s whole Word (1 Thessalonians 2:1-12)?
6 Though he may struggle, the saved one is done with sin and is helped by the Holy Spirit to live a holy and righteous life in the image of Christ through his purposeful, persevering faith (Romans 6-8). As the Lord leads, I present this truth in some detail to the aspiring strong man and great woman of God in my book, The Strong Man Of God: Back To Basics and its companion Strong Man Of God Men’s Group Study as well as Great Woman Of God Women’s Group Study. These are all available in the Strong Man Store, at your favorite internet bookseller or brick and mortar bookstore.
In the opening chapter of my book, The Strong Man Of God: Back To Basics, the Holy Spirit leads me to present the second Person of the triune God, Jesus Christ, as the second Adam come to earth to rescue the fallen first Adam’s descendants (1 Corinthians 15:45-47; 1 Timothy 2:1-6)!1 As was biblically laid out in the March 2018 Blog Series, Behold The Man!, the Lord Jesus as the second Adam gave a perfect display of God’s vision and design of man made in the divine image and likeness.2 For as Man, He perfectly modeled the nature, visionary leadership, ambition, authority and strength of God with many other character traits and demeanor that fully pleased His Father.3
The Father did not send a second woman, but Adam--why? While women also display the masculine attributes of God, Christ came as the second Adam because the first Adam in completeness is the original, eternal creature (Genesis 2:7)!4 Adam stood by himself before God as the fullness of man the creature made in “the image and glory of God,” but woman is his glory deriving her existence from him (1 Corinthians 11:7-8, NKJV). God did not return to the dust to create a separate, independent creature and rival to man. To be his corresponding companion and helper, “Woman” was taken out of Adam, as this descriptive first name he gives her indicates and the apostle Paul plainly affirms (Genesis 2:18-24; 1 Corinthians 11:9, NKJV).
Even so, mortal woman is not less than, but equal to the man in person though, in authority, he stands ahead of her before God.5 Perfectly consistent with this, as the responsible federal head of mankind, God held Adam accountable for passing on sin to every soul that comes forth from his body (Romans 5:12). Thus, as James Brown rightly asserts in his famous song, this is a man’s world in terms of rank and responsibility, but since God created the earth to be inhabited, without a woman, it would be empty of mankind and nothing (Genesis 1:27-28, 3:20, 4:1-2, 25-5:5; Psalm 115:16; Isaiah 45:18; 1 Corinthians 11:11-12).6 This gives mortal woman immeasurable value to God and man!
However, since the second half of the 20th century, women declaring themselves feminists are among many other rebels that have decided to throw off what they consider the yoke of God and the instruction of His Word found in the Bible (Psalm 2:1-3). They reject any subordinate place under the first Adam through such deceit as “Evolution” and demand a form of equality that makes them so independent, they can murder their unborn without consequence. So, now, at this precise moment in the 21st century they stand at the pinnacle of their power and influence as represented by the Time’s Up Movement and pointedly articulated by Oprah Winfrey on a recent 2018 televised awards show.
Mixed in with its righteous call for an end to sexual harassment and pay inequality in the workplace, Time’s Up in its rhetoric seems to also be militantly threatening an overthrow end to the rule of men and replacement by women in presumed superiority.7 Here is where the evil hand and ruinous end game of Satan in the feminist movement clearly shows itself as I also wrote in a 2016 Mother’s Day post (Isaiah 14:12-15).8 For truly, according to God who wrote the script in His Word for how this all ends, these women are right that time is up; His wrath is near to be revealed at the Second Coming of His Son, Christ the second Adam He has appointed to rule and crush this world’s rebellion led then by two evil immortal men (Psalm 2:4-9; Ezekiel 7; Revelation 13, 19:11-20:3)!
This being so, since sinful, usurping women are not any better rulers than men, they should repent now and believe the Gospel of Jesus Christ because His wrath is going to fall equally on all sinners (Psalm 2:10-12)! Indeed, Christ as the second Adam now stands before His Father as the first glorified immortal Man and federal Head of mankind. Like the mortal first Adam, He would have stood alone forever if there were to be no others like Him to come. But now, lined up behind Him by demonstrated faith and faithfulness are souls like Him in great number (1 Corinthians 15:48-49). Saved from wrath, they will be resurrected or translated and metamorphosed to immortal glory at His coming and command; reigning with Him on this earth and forever (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; Revelation 2:25-29, 20:4-6)!
Also, because the second Adam is Lord and Judge, after His wrath, the end for all unrepentant human rebels is resurrection to immortality, judgment based on their works and eternal separation from God in the lake of fire with Satan and the two evil immortals who deceived them (Revelation 20:7-15). This is another of the urgent reasons I continue appealing to professed Christians in their churches to repent from embracing feminism that redefines and marginalizes men. Not only does this stronghold of deceit come from the evil genius of Satan to bind up prospective strong men of God in the image of Christ and plunder their spheres of governance and influence in this life (Matthew 12:29-30; 1 Timothy 4:1-2),9 but also to carry all of his captives away with him to eternal destruction!
So, then, the only ultimate beneficiary of feminism as a stronghold of deceit entrenched in many of the churches is Satan (Proverbs 14:12, 16:25). For while Christians are saved from wrath and Hell by faith in Christ going into salvation, is rebellion against God ever treated as an acceptable continuing work of faith anywhere in the Bible? The saved are those who persevere in their faith validated by its works of love motivated obedience and faithfulness to the end (Mark 13:13; John 14:15; Hebrews 3:7-19; James 2:14-26)! You cannot be a rebel feminist in any measure holding to its deceitful ideology in defiant disobedience to God’s Word and a faithful Christian simultaneously.10 The risen, living Christ continues His cry among American churches, "Who is on the Lord's side?"
1The Strong Man Of God: Back To Basics is available through all major internet booksellers, by order from your favorite brick and mortar bookstore and in the Strong Man
Store.
2 See the four blogs posted in March 2018 under the category, The Cause.
3 Read the July 6, 2014 post, Christ: Model Of Perfect Manhood!, under the category, Instruction and the three part Blog Series beginning January 29, 2017, Jesus, Son
Of Man under the category, The Cause.
4 A point of the biblical doctrine of man I have repeatedly made beginning in my book.
5 The apostle Paul’s teaching on men in general as God’s chosen leaders and fathers and husbands to women in particular, gives rise to his discussion of head cover-
ings for them as the “symbol of authority” respecting their respective heads when they pray or prophesy other than in private (1 Corinthians 11:2-16, NKJV).
6 The world in its rebellion can try to evade God’s use of “mankind” recognizing Adam as the first and patriarchal head of his kind by purposely using “humankind,” but
inescapably right in the middle of this term “man” is still present!
7 https://www.timesupnow.com
8 See the May 8, 2016 post, God A Sexist?, under the category, God’s Creatures.
9 Blogs that present the urgent need to restore men are posted July-September 2017.
10 Read all four of my September 2014 posts on the topic of obedience. It is nearly 2,000 years after the birth of the Church built up by sound, apostolic doctrine (1
Thessalonians 2:1-13). There is no excuse for any departure from the truth of God’s Word, but especially for that which is embodied in the clear deceit and in
God’s face willful rebellion of feminism against it, Him as the Author and the Man He has anointed to rule over mankind according to its eternal precepts. In the
Church’s infancy and before the canonization of New Testament Scripture, God may have been longsuffering with such sin (Hebrews 5:12-14). But not only are
professed Christians today as practicing feminists compromised and corrupted, they and their churches are no longer credible witnesses for Christ since their
rebellion against Him in step with the world is evident. It is also indefensible to God. Without repentance, therefore, their judgment as foretold apostates is just
(Philippians 3:17-19; 2 Thessalonians 2:3-12; Titus 1:10-16; Hebrews 10:26-31)!
Originally Posted 12/29/2013
Proud and arrogant professing Christians among the Gentiles have failed to heed the apostle Paul’s warning not to go there. With the rise of manmade Christianity the religion in the second century already there were anti-Semitic voices among church leaders. By the 4th century Catholic bishop, Augustine of Hippo, through his allegorical method of interpreting Scripture taught that every promise made to Israel was instead for the Church as its replacement. This wretched and bigoted heresy took hold in Rome and was not forsaken by famous 16th century Protestant Reformation leaders Luther and Calvin nor has it been by many that idolize Augustine and the reformers today. Apparently, reform of the Catholic Church by them was intended to only be selective since replacing Israel with the Church is a sin of magnitude far exceeding for example, “indulgences” in wickedness and destructive damage given the apostle Paul’s plain and specific warning in Romans 11:16-22. 1, 2 How could they miss the fact that biblical Christianity is not some new thing separate and different from Judaism, but in fact, is its completion through Jesus the Jewish Messiah (Matthew 5:17-20)? The New Testament writers to a man certainly understood this to be true. The apostle John in the rich prophetic symbolism of the Lord’s Revelation, records ethnic Israel as His persecuted mother and Christians as “her offspring,” (Revelation 12:1-6, 13-17, NKJV). Interpreting God’s Word and especially prophecy as allegory where not warranted by the text itself is sin because He gave it to be taken literally or else why are we celebrating the prophesied birth of Christ and all that unfolded at His first coming as literal fulfillment? And why are we foolishly even waiting for His prophesied literal Second Coming if all biblical prophecy is obscured in the murky waters of allegory which is open only to speculative, subjective interpretation? 3
(I have posted my blog today to enjoy some extra days off celebrating Christmas. The Lord saying the same, I will post my next blog on Sunday, December 29, 2013. Merry Christmas to you and yours!)
“Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man to whom the LORD does not impute iniquity and in whose spirit there is no deceit,” (Psalm 32:1-2, NKJV). Hallelujah! I continue to rejoice in God’s salvation as I experience the awesome reality of His forgiveness of all my past sins when I first believed the Gospel and every day since as I have obeyed His Word to “confess” and repent from them as they occurred or upon later conviction (Psalm 32:3-5; 1 John 1:5-2:2, NKJV).1 While God’s salvation begins with forgiveness, its blessed benefits do not end there. As biblical Christianity, they bountifully and gloriously expand reaching into eternity!
God’s forgiveness opens the way for sinners to be reconciled to and enjoy familial relationship with Him as well as to receive all of His promised benefits. Of the many benefits as spiritual blessings God has packaged in His salvation from sin by grace through faith in the Gospel of His Son, Jesus Christ, forgiveness of all past sins is foremost and foundational (Romans 4:5-8, 5:10-11; Ephesians 1:1-10). As David testifies, God’s forgiveness for sins committed thereafter is absolutely essential to avoid the spiritual, mental, emotional and physical issues that consequentially arise from being unwilling to confess them to Him in all repentance. Sin guilt will make you sick and destroys!2
Enjoying peace with God by His forgiveness of our sins through the blood of Christ,3 the saved in Him are also indwelt and brought to spiritual life by the Holy Spirit; having an eternal inheritance as adopted sons (John 3:1-8; Acts 2:38-39; Romans 8:14-17). The spiritual life we have by the indwelling Holy Spirit is nothing short of the very life of God dynamically and eternally flowing as “rivers of living water” in our inmost being (John 7:37-39, NKJV)! There is nothing in all of human experience to which this can be compared.4 This is uniquely of God “the fountain of life,” “everlasting” and abundant David and the Lord Jesus speak of (Psalm 36:7-9; John 4:7-14, 10:10, NKJV).
The life of God in us by the Holy Spirit is evident in the display of the divine eternal nature beginning with love, character and power (Romans 5:5; Galatians 5:22-25; Ephesians 3:14-21, 5:9; 1 John 4:8). The presence of the Holy Spirit in believers seals us not like contents in a closed jar that cannot escape, but as a living imprint that marks us out as belonging to God. Too, He is “the guarantee” and earnest payment of the Father fulfilling all He has promised us in His great salvation! As our eternal “Helper” (Comforter) and Companion, He oversees and actualizes our regeneration as well (John 14:16-17; 2 Corinthians 1:3, 19-22, 3:17-18, 5:17; Ephesians 1:11-14; Titus 3:4-5, NKJV).
As if the foregoing were not enough, the Holy Spirit carries out the will of the Father and Christ in answering our petitions for protection and deliverance (Psalm 32:6-7). He is also our Teacher teaching us the riches of God’s way in Christ through the written Word; guiding us with His “eye” that has seen and knows all past, present and future if we will be submissive to learn (Psalm 32:8; John 16:12-15; 1 Corinthians 2:6-16, NKJV). Believers as disciples are not to be stubborn, resistant and without understanding like an unbroken “horse” or “mule” that have to be forcefully “harnessed” and controlled or “they will not come near you” much less be teachable (Psalm 32:9, NKJV).
Submission to learn is God’s perfect will for everyone He saves! A submissive heart to learn describes Christ who is the perfect display and example of what a disciple is (Isaiah 50:4-5; John 8:28-29) and who commanded that His disciples be taught (Matthew 28:18-20). Further, being taught the Word of God leads to spiritual growth and maturity which are still more benefits of God’s salvation (Ephesians 1:15-23; 2 Peter 1:1-11)! Otherwise, any professed Christian that will not be taught walks in the way of the unbroken horse, mule and "the wicked" suffering “many sorrows” in contrast to those who submit to and obey God’s will through faith and experience His "mercy," (Psalm 32:10, NKJV).
Indeed, for those believers who submit to and obey God’s will through faith--even every aspiring strong man and great woman of God in the image of Christ--the Holy Spirit willingly serves as our Intercessor interceding for us with the Father when in weakness we have no clue (Romans 8:26-27).5 He is also our Equipper and Source of ability to serve God and fellow man through spiritual gifts (1 Corinthians 12:1-11). In briefly addressing just some of the benefits of God’s salvation as biblical Christianity, it should be easily seen why those of us that are His “righteous” by grace through faith are “glad in the LORD” “and shout for joy,” (Psalm 32:11, NKJV)! Forgiveness of sin in Christ is only the beginning of these blessings that create the joy of salvation in us! Won’t you share in our joy?
1 It is deceit for any unsaved person or professed Christian to believe one can hide or God not notice or care about their sins no matter how small in human eyesight! There
is no possible way to deceive God so, why try? “...you have sinned against the Lord; be sure your sin will find you out,” (Numbers 32:23, NKJV). Christians are supposed
to walk before God and “worship in spirit and truth,” (John 4:23-24, NKJV). And forget the "nobody is perfect" argument--He already knows this while still expecting our
sold out heart attitude to obey His whole Word (not just the parts we agree with) out of love (John 14:15). His way freely offered in love is for us to own our rebellion,
missing of the mark of His perfect righteousness and perversion of His straight ways so that He can forgive these in Christ!
2 For the professed Christian David says particularly in Psalm 32:4a about the time he spent refusing to confess and repent from his sins: “For day and night Your hand was
heavy upon me,” (NKJV). There is no way a blood bought, Spirit-filled believer can sin without sooner or later experiencing His convicting work which may be quietly
resisted in denial and pretense nothing was done wrong, but as David is explaining, this does not turn out very well for the person doing so.
3 Peace with the living God is a blessing beyond description since it includes not having to fear the Day of His wrath!
4 Having been an abuser of drugs and alcohol and committed hedonist in my unsaved youth, I know what I am saying.
5 Read about the aspiring strong man of God and great woman of God in the image of Jesus Christ in my book, The Strong Man Of God: Back To Basics, published by Open
Door Communication Ministries, Inc. and available in print or digital formats at major internet booksellers. You can also purchase a print copy in the Strong Man Store.
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