Believe, Repent, and Accept God's Gift of Salvation
Author: B.R. Hicks
Date: 1997-11-15T10:00:00+00:00
Keywords: Religious
Description: Read this booklet and learn what sin is and where we stand as sinners. Discover the three steps to the LORD's Salvation and note the Scriptures that show God's provision of Salvation in Jesus Christ. Learn what your part is in your Salvation and confirm your assurance of Salvation.
Rights: © Christ Gospel Churches Int’l., Inc., 1997

B. R. Hicks

Christ Gospel Press
P. O. Box 786
Jeffersonville, Indiana 47131-0786
http://www.christgospel.org/

Publisher: Christ Gospel Press
P. O Box 786
Jeffersonville, Indiana 47131-0786

© Christ Gospel Churches Int’l., Inc., 1997

ISBN 978-1-58363-003-7 (paperback)
ISBN 978-1-58363-787-6 (e-book)

Visit the author’s website at www.christgospel.org

All rights reserved.

Printed in the United States of America.

Table of Contents

Chapter One: What Is Sin?

I. Sin Is Disobedience to a Divine Command

II. Sin Is Transgression of God’s Laws

III. Sin Is Iniquity

IV. Sin Is Missing the Mark

Chapter Two: Where Do We Stand As Sinners?

I. We Are Sinners by Nature and Deed, so We Need God’s Salvation in Christ Jesus, the Saviour

II. Acknowledging We Are Sinners Means We Need Forgiveness.

III. We Are Lost, so We Need to Be Found

IV. We Are Unable to Please God, so We Need God’s Mercy and Grace, Found in Christ Jesus

V. We Are Guilty, so We Need Pardon

VI. We Are Spiritually Dead, so We Need Life

VII. We Are Blind, so We Need Illumination

VIII. We Are Slaves to Sin, so We Need Liberation

Chapter Three: Three Steps To The LORD’s Salvation

Chapter Four: God’s Provision Of Salvation In Jesus Christ

Chapter Five: Our Part In Our Salvation

I. We Must Believe in Jesus Christ

II. We Must Repent

III. We Must Accept Jesus Christ as Our Personal Saviour

Chapter Six: We Have An Assurance Of Salvation

I. Our Privilege, as Believers, Is to Know that We Are Saved and Justified

II. We Can Know that We Have Eternal Life

Chapter One

What Is Sin?

All men have sinned; therefore, they all stand guilty before God, and they are under the penalty of Death and Hell.

As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.… Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God.… For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; (Romans 3:10-12,19,23).

Every creature in the world is guilty before God because all have been born under sin with its guilt. Sin also carries a penalty, which is Death. Sin binds, and when we remain sinners, we are bondslaves to our master—sin. Sin carries Eternal Ruin and Damnation; it produces misery, woe, and affliction, and those who sin labour under its cruel yoke. Sin is a tyrannical taskmaster which keeps men under its powerful dominion. Man’s forefather and mother, Adam the First, sold the souls of mankind to work wickedness instead of righteousness. Therefore, without a Saviour, mankind is lost and undone and doomed.

In our old heart, the one with which we are born, there is no seed of righteousness with which we can do good in God’s Sight. No righteousness was born in our old heart. If there had been one place of righteousness in man, God would not have had to send His only Beloved, Begotten Son to the Cross to die in our place in order to deliver us from the penalty and power of sin. The old heart from Adam the First is blinded, depraved, perverted, and without understanding of God’s Righteousness and Holiness. Man, in his darkened understanding, has an inbred nature that defects from all good to all evil. The corruption of mankind is his apostasy from God. Consequently, all the world stands guilty before the all-Seeing Eyes of a Righteous God and a Just Judge.

All human beings in the world are sinners by conception, birth, nature, and practice or deed. Just as an archer comes short of the mark and the racer comes short of the prize, we come short of God’s Glory. We come short of glorifying God in true Righteousness and Holiness within our heart and, without, in the outward deeds in our life.

All the world, apart from the LORD, dishonours Him and disobeys Him. Hence, we need the pure, spotless Righteousness of Jesus Christ to clothe us, which is accomplished through our calling on Him, believing in Him, repenting over our sins against Him, and by accepting Him into our heart.

Sin, which separates us from God and condemns us to death, both naturally and spiritually, is not determined by group opinion nor social nor cultural standards. Sin is what God says it is. It is a moral offense against God.

I.  Sin Is Disobedience to a Divine Command.

Disobedience was the first sin committed by Adam-male and Adam-female in the Garden of Eden. They disobeyed God’s clear Command by choosing to eat of the forbidden Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, in spite of God’s warning which said, “Thou shalt surely die.”

By choosing to do a forbidden thing or by failing to do something that God has Commanded and recorded in His Word for us to do, we become personally guilty of the sin of disobedience. So, sin is the transgression of the Law of God.

Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law (I John 3:4).

So, disobedience is sin, and all unrighteousness is sin.

All unrighteousness is sin: and there is a sin not unto death (I John 5:17).

The introduction of sin into the present Creation is recorded in the Book of Genesis in connection with the fall of our first parents in the Garden, when faced with temptation. Consequently, there is none sinless. But, sins differ in kinds and enormity. The Apostle John distinguished the sin “not unto death” and the “sin unto death” (I John 5:16). This verse teaches us that a person can drive out God’s Spirit from his heart and, therefore, cut himself off from all intercession in the Spirit. There also is an unpardonable sin (Matthew 12:31,32). This sin is the result of absolute resistance to the operation and influence of the Holy Spirit upon the heart. It is final impenitence, excluding the possibility of conversion, hence, the forgiveness of sins.

II.  Sin Is Transgression of God’s Laws.

The Hebrew word for transgression is paw-shah, meaning to break away from just authority, apostatize, quarrel, offend, rebel, rebellion, obstinate, doing wrong out of contempt for God’s Law, His Torah-Truth, because the wrong is forbidden. We are guilty of transgression whenever we go beyond the approved limits that God clearly has set forth in His Laws and Doctrines that are recorded in the sixty-six Books of His Written Word.

III.  Sin Is Iniquity.

The Hebrew word for iniquity is aw-vone, from the root word aw-vaw, meaning to crook; do amiss; bow down; willful departure from God, the Divine Decider, and the straight Way of His Torah-Truth; perverseness; evil; fault; sin; vanity; wickedness; moral evil; unrighteousness; injustice; wrongfulness; and that which is contrary to God’s Law. Sin is an abnormality that undermines and destroys our precious right relationship with God.

Sin is any failure to conform to the Torah-Truth, God’s Divine Law. Since man is finite, frail, and weak, he has no power in his self to deal with sin nor to liberate himself from sin. But, thanks be unto God, the LORD Jesus Christ has All Power in Heaven and Earth to forgive sin and to overcome sin in the human heart. His Cross and His Obedient Death are on Earth, and His Resurrected Life is in Heaven. Therefore, Christ’s Obedient Death and Resurrection Life is the “ALL Power in Heaven and in Earth”!

This is why the LORD says that He will hear the Heavens, and they shall hear the Earth.

And it shall come to pass in that day, I will hear, saith the LORD, I will hear the heavens, and they shall hear the earth; (Hosea 2:21).

The Father will hear the Resurrection Life of His Beloved Son at His Right Hand, Whose Life fills the whole Heavens. The Heavens, which are filled with the Resurrection Life of the Son, will hear the Earth or the Obedient Death and Cross of Jesus Christ since the whole Earth is filled with Christ Jesus’ Obedient Death and His Cross. Thus, through Christ’s Resurrection Life and Obedient Death, harmony is restored between Heaven and Earth, and God the Father hears this harmony!

Let us look at the downward trail of sin when it is left unrestrained and unrepented of.

The slimy Serpent’s deceitful trail always leads to Death and Hell. Although the slimy Serpent’s trail began with Adam-female’s believing his lie, it will end in God’s awesome punishment by His Truth in Death and Hell. Sin has darkened human life and saddened human history, apart from the Saving Power of Jesus Christ and penitent souls’ believing Christ’s Almighty Power in Heaven and Earth to save them from the penalty and power of sin. Aside from the ultimate punishment of sin, the worst effect of sin is within and is manifested in the following ways: by our body being defaced and disfigured by its marks; by our soul being preserved in poverty and pain, which separates it from God; by our spirit being brutalized and broken, which fills it with hopelessness and depression; by our will being debilitated and weakened, which prevents us from having the power to choose God’s good, righteous Way.

Sin uses Lucifer’s stolen light to create a false day-season for the sinner, but sin cannot prevent God from revealing the reality of its darkness with its monstrous image.

Sin always advances in the soul, unless we retreat to the refuge of repentance. Remember, the further we go into the way of sin, the further we have to return, when we repent. If we spare sin in our heart and life, sin will not spare us but will take us to the bottom of ruin, which is Death and Hell. Consequently, we should allow Jesus Christ’s Obedient Death on the Cross to kill sin in us, before sin kills us. If we follow sin to its bitter end, we will die with its shame and our guilt. If we allow Jesus Christ to quench the first sparks of sin with the Waters of His Obedient Death, there will be no vehement sinful flames in our body, soul, spirit, and will.

All sin begins in the thoughts of the heart. For example, consider what life would be if we thought in the following ways:

- With no sinful, angry thoughts, there would be no murders;

- With no sinful, lustful thoughts, there would be no adultery;

- With no sinful, lustful thoughts of unlawfully possessing others’ property, there would be no coveting;

- With no sinful, lustful thoughts of fear, there would be no distrust of God to prevent us from doing His Purposive Will.

The deadliest sin of all is sinful, deceitful ignorance that makes us believe that we have no sin. The wages that sin offers its followers are life, pleasure, and profit. However, the wages sin really pays are death, misery, and loss. It is easy to understand the nature of sin’s deceitfulness and falsehood if we compare it’s promises along with its payments. Although sinful guilt attains a few moments of temporal splendor and satisfaction, it never can give Eternal Glory and Satisfaction. Remember, the consequences of sin long survive its commission. Sin may appear bright and beautiful as the noonday sun, but if we remain unrepentant, our soul will end as dark as midnight in Hell and Death.

IV.  Sin Is Missing the Mark.

Like an archer who aims at the target and misses, we aim at righteousness but miss the mark. Everyone falls far short of God’s Standards of Righteousness because we, by nature, are sinful and, thus, incapable of measuring up to God’s Righteousness.

Sin is missing the mark through the abuse of human appetites, human passions, and human faculties. God gives us our humanity to be joined to the Humanity of Jesus Christ so that we, through Christ, can glorify the Father. Remember, the little things that make us miss the Mark of Holiness are the pioneers of Death and Hell, if we do not repent of them.

Slight thoughts of sin never produce great revelation or thoughts of God. Sin first breaks our unity with God, then, with others. Cain never killed his brother Abel until after he, deliberately and defiantly, had broken his union with God.

The sin that God brings to our remembrance, be it ever so small and insignificant, is the one we must repent of, withstand, and master by Christ’s Obedient Death and Resurrected Life. Then, we must allow Jesus Christ to establish His Divine Principle of Truth and Holiness in our heart and life. Jesus wants to kill the sinful weeds in the garden of our heart and, then, cultivate the soil and replant it with His Holy Seeds of Truth and Righteousness.

There is no fool like a sinning soul who plays with his Eternal Destiny every moment. Sin always wars against the soul’s reason and conscience. Sin feeds the hungry soul with its bread of pleasure, but it is poisoned bread. Sin offers its pleasant drink to the thirsty soul, but its source is a deadly fountain, and its end is Death and Hell. On the other hand, Jesus Christ gives us the Eternal Bread of Life and the Water of Life that Eternally satisfies all hunger and quenches all thirst!

In brief, sin is a choice for evil rather than good. The New Testament gives several lists of specific sins, which are enumerated in the following Scriptures:

Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and four-footed beasts, and creeping things. Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves: Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen. For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature: And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet. And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient; Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers, Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, Without understanding, covenant-breakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful: Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them (Romans 1:21-32).

This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would. But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law. Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another (Galatians 5:16-26).

Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children; And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour. But fornication, and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not be once named among you, as becometh saints; Neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor jesting, which are not convenient: but rather giving of thanks. For this ye know, that no whoremonger, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. Let no man deceive you with vain words: for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience. Be not ye therefore partakers with them. For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light: (For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth;) Proving what is acceptable unto the Lord. And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them. For it is a shame even to speak of those things which are done of them in secret. But all things that are reproved are made manifest by the light: for whatsoever doth make manifest is light. Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light. See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, Redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is. And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit; (Ephesians 5:1-18).

Sinful man knows the Eternal Power and Godhead of the LORD by His Creation. The Workman is known by His Works and by His Supreme, Sovereign Rulership over all His Works. Man also knows the difference between sin and righteousness by the Omnipresent Light of Truth that God has sent into the conscience of every man who has been born.

That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world (John 1:9).

The greatest heathen never can say that he did not know between right and wrong because he has had Christ’s Omnipresent Light of Truth to condemn him for his wrong.

The flesh (old man, old heart) wars against the Spirit of God. It is our choice as believers in Christ Jesus to join God’s battle against sin by cleaving to God’s Spirit, Who convicts and convinces us of sin and leads us to Christ’s Obedient Death on Earth and His Resurrected Life in Heaven. Jesus Christ already has overcome sin without. Now, He desires to overcome the power of sin within us. He has come inside all true believers, giving them a New Heart that is created in His Image and Likeness. All we have to do is to choose whose side we are going to join in the warfare: the Spirit’s side which wars against sinful flesh, or the flesh’s side which wars against the Spirit.

Sinful flesh already has been defeated without, at Calvary; consequently, sinful flesh is waging a losing warfare. If we choose to join with the sinful flesh in the struggle against the Spirit, and if we seem to win, momentarily, against the Spirit, we still will lose in the end. God and His Spirit and His Son always win in the end! Why not join God and His Warfare against the flesh, now, and be a winner both now and in the end?

God’s Word warns us against particular sins. It also urges us to be particularly obedient in our duty toward God’s Word after we have been convicted and convinced of particular sins and after we have allowed the Crucified Christ and the Resurrected Christ to purge, cleanse, crucify, and mortify our sins. We have good reason to fulfill our duty of thanksgiving by singing and making melody in our heart to the LORD for His Divine Salvation, Favors, and Victories.

In addition to these references to particular sins, the Bible is full of general Spiritual Principles that give us further understanding of what God considers to be sinful. Any disregard of God’s Divine Principles or any disobedience to them in thoughts, feelings, and deeds constitutes sin.

If there is a doubt in our mind about whether something is a sin or not, we should ask ourself the following questions:

- Does God’s Word specifically forbid it?

- Is it clean and wholesome, or is it defiling and degrading?

- Is it good for me, physically, mentally, morally, and spiritually?

- Is it respectable and uplifting, or is it something shameful that needs to be hidden?

- Will it injure someone or give them a bad reputation or cause someone else to stumble?

- Will it promote sin in someone else?

- Would Jesus do it?

We all need a Saviour because we have inherited a sinful nature from Adam the First, and we also are guilty of personal sins against God and mankind. But, our needs are supplied by God’s Righteous Nature in Christ Jesus, which qualifies Him to be our Perfect Saviour.

Pharaoh, the wicked ruler of Egypt, confessed his personal wickedness and sin toward God and His people.

And Pharaoh sent, and called for Moses and Aaron, and said unto them, I have sinned this time: the LORD is righteous, and I and my people are wicked (Exodus 9:27).

Pharaoh acknowledged that by seeing the demonstration of God’s Power, through His Judgments on Egypt, he had learned that God was clearly right and that he had been sinfully wrong. He saw clearly that God was the Master and Owner of the land and His people and not Pharaoh himself. Therefore, Pharaoh saw that he had no right to behave as though he were the owner and master of the land and of the people of Israel. Although Pharaoh saw his sinful wrong against the LORD and His people, he never repented. So, he died an impenitent sinner as he battled against the LORD’s Holy Name at the Red Sea. Thus, Pharaoh went to the depth of God’s Judgment in Death, and there he will be forced, against his will, to acknowledge that God is morally right and that he is sinfully wrong. How different it is with God’s penitent people.

They that are delivered from the noise of archers in the places of drawing water, there shall they rehearse the righteous acts of the LORD, even the righteous acts toward the inhabitants of his villages in Israel: then shall the people of the LORD go down to the gates (Judges 5:11).

When Deborah, Barak, and their followers returned from their battle with Jabin, the King of Canaan, they rehearsed a prophetic song about God’s past Righteous Deeds, which He had wrought against those who were morally wrong, and about His great victory over their flesh. They also sang prophetically about the victory they had won in the battle over King Jabin and his armies of flesh. Deborah’s victorious song declared that God’s victory over Jabin and his army of flesh deserve louder praise from His people than their shouts of praise at the watering trough where they divided the spoils. God’s victory over sinful flesh is more important than the spoils!

When King Rehoboam’s Kingdom in Israel was established and strengthened, he forsook the Law of the LORD and all Israel with him. Consequently, God allowed King Shishak of Egypt to come up and overpower Israel’s fenced cities. Then, God sent His Prophet Shemaiah to the King of Israel and his Princes, saying, “Ye have forsaken me, and therefore have I also left you in the hand of Shishak.”

Therefore, they humbled themselves, confessed their sin, repented of it, and acknowledged that the LORD is Righteous in His Judgment.

Whereupon the princes of Israel and the king humbled themselves; and they said, The LORD is righteous (II Chronicles 12:6).

They said, in so many words, that they deserved the calamity which God had sent upon them through Shishak. However, when the LORD saw that they had humbled themselves and repented, He promised not to destroy them but to grant some deliverance and not pour out His Wrath upon them.

Daniel, in the first part of King Darius’ rule, studied about the seventy years of captivity that the LORD had revealed to Jeremiah. Therefore, Daniel, in seeing Israel’s sin, set about to pray, supplicate, fast with sackcloth and ashes, and to confess Israel’s national sins, iniquitous dealings, wicked doings, rebellion, and their defections from God when they served idols. Daniel made the LORD Righteous by acknowledging that the LORD was Righteous for inflicting punishment upon the Nation of Israel for their idolatry.

The LORD had watched over Israel, and He was alert to bring about Judgment that would be equal to Israel’s crime of idolatry against Him. The LORD is Righteous in all His Judgments upon us. We have only to look at the enormity of our sin to see that the LORD is Righteous.

O LORD, righteousness belongeth unto thee, but unto us confusion of faces, as at this day; to the men of Judah, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and unto all Israel, that are near, and that are far off, through all the countries whither thou hast driven them, because of their trespass that they have trespassed against thee.… Therefore hath the LORD watched upon the evil, and brought it upon us: for the LORD our God is righteous in all his works which he doeth: for we obeyed not his voice (Daniel 9:7,14).

The word righteous means to be just, lawful, and right in a moral or forensic sense. God’s Righteousness makes it necessary for Him to punish sin. Righteousness is a part of the LORD’s Holy Name or Nature.

And the LORD passed by before him, and proclaimed, The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children’s children, unto the third and to the fourth generation (Exodus 34:6,7).

For the repentant and penitent heart that seeks atonement for his sins and desires to return to the LORD, God takes away his sins and forgives him. But, to sinners who are without sincere, honest repentance and a willingness to forsake their sins, the LORD gives them over to the judgmental consequences of their sinful deeds. The smallest departure from the LORD’s Torah-Truth brings misery, unhappiness, and misfortune. Children to the third and fourth generations suffer for their parents’ defection from God.

God loves sinners, but He hates their sin. When we persist in our sinning, rejecting God’s Provision of Salvation from the penalty and power of sin, then we must pay the penalty of sin, which is separation from the Presence of God, both now and in Eternity.

The Lord Jesus Christ gave four warnings to the careless, unbelieving Pharisees to make them consider their deliberate rejection of Him as the Light of the world.

Then said Jesus again unto them, I go my way, and ye shall seek me, and shall die in your sins: whither I go, ye cannot come.… I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: for if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins (John 8:21,24).

Jesus said, again, to the Pharisees that He would go away from them, leaving them in the darkness of their own sinful ways since they had rejected Him as the Light of the world. Jesus warned them of their final impenitency, saying, “Ye shall die in your sins of unbelief” because they rejected Him as the true Messiah and Saviour of the world.

Jesus warned all His followers to take heed to the ruining of their own souls by sin. Jesus taught that nothing is so dear—even though it be a hand, a foot, or an eye—nothing is worth holding onto if it causes us to live eternally in sin and damns our soul to Hell.

And if thy hand offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter into life maimed, than having two hands to go into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched: Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched. And if thy foot offend thee, cut if off: it is better for thee to enter halt into life, than having two feet to be cast into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched: Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched. And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out: it is better for thee to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye, than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire: Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched (Mark 9:43-48).

The part of our sinful being that is incurably wounded and filled with the corruption of sin must be cut off. If our “darling lust” is a “hand” to us, causing us to serve fallen Lucifer, or if it is “foot” to us, making us walk in the broad way of sin and wickedness, or if it is an “eye,” enticing us to feast our spirit and soul on idolatrous things, we must cut it off by allowing Jesus to crucify and mortify it.

It is better to feel pain and loneliness in our soul because we have abandoned our sin, even to the point of feeling halt and maimed, in order to continue in Christ’s Eternal Life than to enjoy the pleasures that accompany sin for a season. We must put ourself to whatever pain is necessary in order to allow Christ to overcome our sin. Self must be denied and crucified so that our soul will not be destroyed and so that we can enter into God’s Eternal Kingdom. The halt and maimed scars that we bear as marks of shame and dishonour in this world will be marks of exaltation and honour for Christ’s Sake in the Kingdom of God and the Lamb in the New City.

The classic example of a sinner who never forsook his sin is found in the story of the rich man who went to Hell when he died. The rich man never cut off his “darling,” lustful greed; therefore, it took him to a Hell of Fire.

And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham’s bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried; And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame. But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented. And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence. Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my father’s house: For I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment. Abraham saith unto him, They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them. And he said, Nay, father Abraham: but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent. And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead (Luke 16:22-31).

The rich man was so in love with his “darling lust,” and he had given himself so completely to the satisfying of his flesh, with its passions and appetites, that he gave no thought for the Eternal Welfare of his soul. The rich man had devoted himself entirely to the pleasures of the world of his senses. He never cut off a “hand,” a “foot,” or an “eye” of his lust in order to serve the Living God. Consequently, after death had snatched him from the pleasures and lusts of the flesh, he was immediately in the misery and torment of God’s Wrathful Fire in Hell. The rich man tried to be a priest, prophet, and preacher in Hell, but it was too late. He prayed for Father Abraham to send someone to warn his brothers. He tried to imagine, prophetically, that his brethren would repent if someone arose from the dead to warn them. He became a preacher, trying to get someone to bear his message of Salvation to his brethren so that they could repent and avoid the place of Hell, but to no avail. His choices had locked him in Hell.

Abraham reminded the rich man that his brothers had God’s Word, which He had given through Moses and the Prophets, and it would show them the Way of Salvation and Life if they chose to hear.

God always has given His Word of Salvation and Life to those who would hear, believe, repent, and accept Salvation. However, there always have been those who are revolters and rejecters of God’s Salvation and Life, as were Cain, Balaam, and Core.

Woe unto them! for they have gone in the way of Cain, and ran greedily after the error of Balaam for reward, and perished in the gainsaying of Core. These are spots in your feasts of charity, when they feast with you, feeding themselves without fear: clouds they are without water, carried about of winds; trees whose fruit withereth, without fruit, twice dead, plucked up by the roots; Raging waves of the sea, foaming out their own shame; wandering stars, to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness for ever (Jude 1:11-13)

The Apostle Jude proclaimed a charge against the deceivers of his day who were trying to seduce the Disciples of Christ from their profession and practice of Christ’s Doctrine of Salvation. He likened them to filthy, corrupt sinners like Cain, Balaam, and Core, all of whom were odious and vile in the Sight of the Most Holy, High God. Sinners have one of two choices: they can become penitent sinners and accept Christ’s Salvation and Life; or they can be punished sinners in God’s Wrathful Fire of Hell.

God pleads with us not to be deceived, promising that whatsoever we sow that shall we also reap. If we sow repentance, we will reap God’s Salvation and Life in Christ. If we sow rebellion, rejection, and impenitence of heart, we will reap God’s Punishment in Hell. This is true and simple!

If we remain unrepentant sinners, we cannot alter God’s Judgment. We must repent and accept Christ’s Salvation and Life to avoid His Judgment.

All people who are resurrected in the last Resurrection will stand before God’s Great White Throne Judgment to receive God’s Eternal Verdicts concerning the way they have spent their lives.

And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire (Revelation 20:11-15).

Fallen Lucifer’s rebellious road in this wilderness world leads people away from the LORD’s Way (Jesus Christ) of Salvation, Life, Light, and Love. But, after a person’s death, Lucifer no longer has control of his rebellious road, which surely will lead to God’s Great White Throne, where sinners will give account for every sinful, offensive thought, feeling, and deed against the LORD, the Unbegotten Father’s Holy Name, and His only Begotten Son, the LORD Jesus Christ, His Torah-Truth.

God’s Throne is Great and White, very glorious and perfectly Just and Righteous. None is so small, and none is so great that he can escape God’s Judgment. The Fire of God’s Judgmental Breath will be equal to man’s breath of offense against the Breath of His Name and His Torah-Truth. God’s Fiery Breath of Judgment will pour on all impenitent sinners until they are purged from their Luciferic rebellion. Therefore, all sinners ultimately will bow their knees to the LORD Jesus Christ and His Unbegotten Father.

Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father (Philippians 2:9-11).

It is to the Father and to the Son’s Eternal Glory that not one impenitent sinner will be forsaken, but God and His Son will keep following all sinners until they are brought to their knees in the Lake of Fire, where they will confess and give thanks that Jesus Christ is Lord and that He is their Owner and Master, to the Glory of God the Father. God never created a creature who is bigger than He is; thus, He, alone, is in control—not man. God allows impenitent sinners to choose to accept Jesus Christ in this world or to reject Him. However, in the world to come, man will not have a choice to reject God’s Torah-Truth. God will force all knees to bow and all tongues to confess and give thanks that Jesus Christ is Lord.

Chapter Two

Where Do We Stand As Sinners?

The following points give a clear picture of the state we are in when we come into this world. If we believe in God, and if we see our condition, then we can repent of our condition and accept God’s Solution to our needs—His Gift of Salvation.

I.  We Are Sinners by Nature and Deed, so We Need God’s Salvation in Christ Jesus, the Saviour.

Before we can be saved, it is necessary for us to acknowledge our lost condition. God’s Word teaches that all men are sinners by nature and by deed.

Our very nature was shapen in iniquity and sin when our mother conceived us.

Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me (Psalm 51:5).

God is not saying that the marital act is sin. But, through conception and birth, the sin and iniquity of Adam the First is passed down to the whole human race. Consequently, we are born with an old heart or nature that is full of iniquity and sin.

The Psalmist was not calling God to behold his iniquity and sin since God already sees and knows all things, but he was calling himself to recognition of his own iniquity and sin in his old nature or old heart.

When man’s spirit and soul came forth from God, they were Pure and Holy, but when they passed through the loins of Adam the First and through the loins of earthly parents, they were twisted and perverted in sin and iniquity. Consequently, our old nature or old heart is capable of all sin and iniquity. Thus, we have been brought into the world with a totally corrupt nature that has been wickedly and wretchedly degenerated from its primitive purity; its uprightness of character; its moral straightness; and its correctness of understanding and judgment. Consequently, from our first birth, we have the seed of sin in our spirit, the snares of sin in our soul, the stain of sin in our will, and the death of sin in our body. This is our original sin from the First Adam, from which the Second Adam, the LORD Jesus Christ, came to free us, giving us the Gift of His Righteous, Pure, and Spotless Life so that we can be a new creature and have a new nature and New Heart in Christ Jesus.

Thus, all human beings are born into this world with a sinful nature which we have inherited from fallen Adam the First. Our sinful, corrupt nature also is called the body of sin and the old man; it is known as the flesh and our carnal nature and the body of death.

Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin (Romans 6:6).

For we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin. For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I. If then I do that which I would not, I consent unto the law that it is good. Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.… O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death? (Romans 7:14-18,24).

The terms “body of sin” and “body of death“ do not refer to the physical, mortal body because God is the Creator of the physical body of man. The physical body, in itself, is good, not evil. The body of sin, inherited from Adam the First, is a spiritual body from which originates the River of Deceit, Sin, and Iniquity that flows down through the will of fallen man.

This perverted, inherent Luciferic will within our human will is what seeks to control and direct our deeds and the appetites of our physical body.

The Apostle Paul, by God’s Holy Ghost, taught the means by which we can overcome the old man (our old heart, our body of death, our body of sin) after we have been saved through God’s Gift of Salvation in Christ Jesus. We must no longer live under the cruel taskmaster of the old heart, allowing it to govern and control our thoughts, feelings, and deeds. We must come to our Saviour and Deliverer and let Him crucify and mortify the old man, the body of sin and death, within us. The body of sin, with its power of control, must be destroyed. Although we cannot destroy it, Christ can! We must allow Jesus Christ to destroy the idol of pride in our heart and will or the body of sin so that we can become true servants of God and no longer serve sin, which is a cruel taskmaster.

When we become a Christian, our physical body can be possessed and directed by God’s Holy Spirit, for it becomes a temple of the Holy Ghost.

What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? (I Corinthians 6:19).

Another argument against letting sin remain in our body is that our body is the Temple of the Holy Ghost.

After Christ Jesus has come into our heart, God wants to send the Baptism of the Holy Ghost on our New Heart or New Man, Christ Jesus, within us, just as He sent the Holy Ghost upon Jesus Christ when He was Baptized in Water (Matthew 3:16,17).

After we have received the Holy Ghost and Fire, with His Fiery Tongues, it is necessary for us to yield to Christ Jesus for the crucifixion and mortification of our old man so that we might be consecrated solely unto the LORD for His use in His Kingdom.

The purpose for a temple is to provide a place in which the LORD, His Word, His Spirit, and His Glory can dwell. God desires that our body be a clean Holy temple where the Holy Ghost can dwell. First, our body was created by God, and, second, it was bought and redeemed out of sin by God’s Blood in Christ Jesus. Consequently, we belong to the LORD and are to glorify God, both in our body and our spirit.

In addition to having a sinful nature, inherited from fallen Adam the First, we also are guilty before God of sins we personally have committed.

The wicked are estranged from the womb: they go astray as soon as they be born, speaking lies (Psalm 58:3).

We are born in sin; therefore, our sinful inclination to sin becomes deeper ingrained in our nature through repeated evil deeds.

From the moment of our birth, our sinful nature is evidenced by our wicked thoughts, words, deeds, and attitudes of hostility toward God and all others who contrary our will. Scripture clearly describes our sinful condition and our need for God’s Forgiveness and Reconciliation.

II.  Acknowledging We Are Sinners Means We Need Forgiveness.

Be it known unto you therefore, men and brethren, that through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins: (Acts 13:38).

To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me (Acts 26:18).

An unrepentant person is a sinner; therefore, he needs to repent and find God’s Forgiveness. When God looks at a penitent sinner who has been clothed in the precious Blood of Jesus Christ, He ceases to be angry with that soul. He gives up his resentment against the sinner for Christ’s Sake. For Christ’s Sake, God gives up the punishment and penalty that He had placed over the sinner. And, He pardons and forgives the sinner for Christ’s Sake.

God’s Divine Forgiveness for our offenses against His Moral Torah is freely given to us when we repent and take Christ the Word’s precious Blood as a Covering for our sin.

The penitent sinner experiences the Father’s Forgiveness; the Father’s exemption from Eternal Punishment; and God’s release from Danger, Death, and Destruction.

We, as sinners, need forgiveness, and God has provided forgiveness through the precious Blood of Jesus Christ.

In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace; (Ephesians 1:7).

In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins: (Colossians 1:14).

God loves and forgives His people for the sake of His beloved Son’s Blood. Remission of sins and redemption from sins are found in Christ’s precious Blood! We were captives of sin, but Jesus has released us from our captivity by the remission of our sins through His Life-giving, Cleansing Blood. There is no other way God can remove the guilt and stain of our sins. Jesus Christ paid dearly, by giving His Life on the Cross, for the great Gift of Salvation and the Riches of God’s Grace that flows through His Salvation.

III.  We Are Lost, so We Need to Be Found.

All human beings have gone astray; all are lost in Lucifer’s kingdom of darkness.

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

All future generations of the world’s population went astray when Adam-male and female chose to disobey God. All are guilty when they are born, one person as well as the other. Man is a straying creature, lost from His Creator, his Master and Owner. Lucifer alienated man’s soul from its LORD, from His Master Plan and Purposive Will. We, like straying sheep, went far from the Father’s sheepfold, and we could not find our way back to the Father’s sheepfold. So, the Father sent His Shepherd, the LORD Jesus Christ, to come and seek and find His lost sheep.

When we went astray, the malignity of sin bred in us willful defiance and rebellion against God, but the Father laid our iniquity upon His Son, Jesus Christ, so that we might be found, freed, and brought into friendship with Him and with each other.

IV.  We Are Unable to Please God, so We Need God’s Mercy and Grace, Found in Christ Jesus.

For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death: but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God (Romans 8:5-8).

God’s Mercy drives back the punishment that we as penitent sinners deserve and brings in His unmerited, saving Grace that we do not deserve. We cannot save nor deliver ourself from our sinful carnal nature either before Salvation or after Salvation.

Since the Lord Jesus Christ is the only One Who always has known how to please the Father, we need His Mercy and Grace to save us and to deliver us from the carnal mind and nature in our old heart.

And he that sent me is with me: the Father hath not left me alone; for I do always those things that please him (John 8:29).

Jesus Christ had His Father’s Presence, Power, and Preference with Him because Jesus was Pure and Holy, inside, and He always loved and did His Father’s Master Plan and Purposive Will on the outside. Jesus was in total, perfect harmony with the Father’s Plan and Purpose for all things. Consequently, the LORD Jesus Christ can save us from the penalty of sin by coming into our heart, and He can, by working through His Ruling Mercy and Grace in our heart, destroy and deliver us from the carnal mind in our old heart that always pleases the flesh instead of pleasing God. From inside our old heart, Jesus can destroy the carnal mind by regenerating, converting, conforming, and transforming our sinful mind.

Sinful mankind is unable to release himself from God’s Punishment and Judgment. We need Someone Who is capable of releasing us from our crimes and offenses against God and His Word. We need Someone Who has Power to cancel the penalty of our offenses, and there is only One Who legally has been given the Almighty Power from the Heavenly Father to pardon and forgive, and this is the LORD Jesus Christ, the Savour of the whole world.

V.  We Are Guilty, so We Need Pardon.

The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? (Jeremiah 17:9).

But they and our fathers dealt proudly, and hardened their necks, and hearkened not to thy commandments, And refused to obey, neither were mindful of thy wonders that thou didst among them; but hardened their necks, and in their rebellion appointed a captain to return to their bondage: but thou art a God ready to pardon, gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and forsookest them not (Nehemiah 9:16,17).

Our heart is deceitful. Being deceitful is the act of representing as true what is known to be false. Our old heart is full of lies, falsehoods, and deceits. Our old heart is desperately wicked, which means it is extremely dangerous and morally depraved; consequently, we need Someone Who has the Power to pardon us.

Nehemiah reminded the remnant of captives who had returned from Babylon that the hearts of their forefathers had been desperately wicked, which was manifested by their following attitudes and actions: (1) their proud dealings of ingratitude for all God’s Mercy, Goodness, and Grace that He displayed toward them; (2) the way they hardened their necks and refused the yoke of God’s Torah-Truth and the Guiding Impressions of His Holy Spirit; (3) their obstinate refusal to obey the Commandments and Laws of God, their Supreme, Sovereign King; (4) their total forgetfulness and unmindfulness of God’s Wonders and Miracles that He had done for them; (5) their defection from Him as they searched for greater gods to do greater things; (6) the way they rebelled when their diseased perception of reality caused them to appoint a captain to return them to Egyptian bondage, which showed that they preferred the company of their former, wicked, cruel taskmasters to the fellowship of God’s Miracle Food and Drink and His Glorious Presence in the wilderness.

In spite of Israel’s wicked, wicked behavior, God is a God Who is ready to pardon. God always is ready and equipped to act immediately in pardoning penitent sinners. We are guilty; therefore, we need pardon. We only have to confess our sins, repent, and humble ourself at the foot of the Cross, by faith, and ask the LORD Jesus Christ to forgive us and to pardon us. Jesus’ Pardon always is available, immediately. Jesus forgives penitent souls without delay.

VI.  We Are Spiritually Dead, so We Need Life.

And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others (Ephesians 2:1-3).

Without repentance for sin and faith in Jesus Christ, we are spiritually dead. Therefore, we need Life. The Apostle Paul recounted the miserable condition of the Ephesians before they had found Jesus Christ as their Saviour.

Unsaved souls are dead in trespasses and sins. Whenever sin prevails in the soul, there is a quenching of spiritual life. Sinners are spiritually poverty-stricken, without God’s Life-giving Principles and His Almighty, Glorious Presence. Unrepentant sinners are cut off from Jesus Christ, the Fountain of Life.

Jesus Christ is waiting to share His Fountain of Life-giving Truth with any and all penitent sinners. He is ready to pardon, to forgive, and to give His fresh, new, enlivening Truth and Life to sinners’ needy souls.

VII.  We Are Blind, so We Need Illumination.

But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them (II Corinthians 4:3,4).

We are born spiritually blind, without God’s Divine Light of Illumination. As unrepentant sinners, we are under the control of the god of this world, who is fallen Lucifer. It is his business to work his rebellion and enmity against God in our darkened understanding so that we will continue to reject Jesus Christ and His Light of Truth. We are blinded by the Prince of Darkness, so we need a Saviour and Redeemer to heal our spiritual blindness, which will happen when we allow the Light of Christ’s Glorious Gospel to shine into our heart; then, we can be saved.

The Glorious Light of the Gospel of Christ Jesus is hidden from all who are lost, blind, and unsaved. We who are saved must preach the glorious Gospel of Christ to the lost so that the Gospel Light can enlighten their understanding, convincing them that there is a Saviour and a Redeemer to heal their blindness and to save them from their sins.

VIII.  We Are Slaves to Sin, so We Need Liberation.

Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. For he that is dead is freed from sin. Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him: Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him. For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God. Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof (Romans 6:6-12).

Our old man is a slave to sin—a captive who is completely owned by Lucifer. Our old man is a bondslave to Lucifer, who has completely divested him of all freedom and personal rights. Lucifer completely dominates our old man by influencing us to war against God and God’s Holy Master Plan and Purposive Will and by establishing sinful habits in our life which are corrupt choices that prevent us from serving God. Therefore, we need someone to set us free and liberate us from Lucifer’s cruel bondage.

The LORD Jesus Christ died on the Cross, went to Death, Hell, and the Grave, and rose again the third day, and He is seated at the Right Hand of God, in the Father’s Glory, to set us free from this cruel bondage. Jesus Christ has given us both His Death and His Life to release our old man from slavery to Lucifer and his inimical occupation of our body so that we can completely serve the LORD.

Let us look at our relationship with Christ’s Death to see what it provides so that, by faith, we can lay hold of liberation from Lucifer’s dominion.

At Calvary’s Cross, we can find Christ’s Death for destruction of our sin and His precious Blood for our cleansing from sin’s corruption and defilement. Afterward, as penitent sinners,  we can, by faith, lay hold of Christ’s Glorious Resurrected Life and, thereafter, walk in newness of Life with Christ.

We must understand, theoretically, that Jesus has nailed all sin to the Cross, once and for all. We also must understand, experientially, that we must go back daily, by faith, to the Cross after we have been saved. The Apostle Paul confirmed this by saying that he died daily by joining himself experientially to Christ’s Death at the Cross.

I protest by your rejoicing which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily (I Corinthians 15:31).

After we, daily, have left more of our darkness and death that abides in our old man, the body of sin, at the Cross, we ascend, by faith, to the Father’s Right Hand, where Jesus Christ fills us with more of His New Life, Light, and Love. Thus, we grow in Grace or Gratitude and Knowledge of Christ’s Death and Life, which is the secret of All Knowledge. Hence, we can walk in Jesus Christ’s Footsteps, both in Earth and in Heaven or in His Death and in His Life.

The old heart of the old Adam must die daily. The Hebrew root word for old heart is yaw-shane, meaning to be slack, languid, to sleep or die, grow old, stale, inveterate, sapless, withered, old, not fresh, chronic disease, ancient. Hence, we see that the old heart from Adam the First is dead, which is a result of a disobedient death. Therefore, as penitent sinners, we need to go to Calvary’s Cross for Christ’s Blood, which will liberate us from this disobedient death. Then, we need to take on Christ’s Obedient Death at the Cross, which joins us to the Risen Christ, at the Father’s Right Hand, with His New Resurrection Life. As penitent sinners, this is to be our empirical-knowledge-experience, daily, in Christ Jesus.

If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God (Colossians 3:1-3).

Our Saviour, Redeemer, and Sovereign Liberator from death is advanced to the place of ALL Power and Authority. When our old heart has been liberated from its deathly condition, it sets its affection on things above, not on things below. Things on Earth are set in opposition to the things above. We become dead, daily, to the things below, as far as making them our Eternal Portion. After we have taken on Christ’s Obedient Death, which makes us dead to the Earth as our source of satisfaction and happiness, Christ’s Obedient Death liberates us from the strong delusion that works in our diseased perception of reality to tell us that we can find true satisfaction and happiness in the things of Earth. Our New Man or New Heart is nourished and fed with Christ’s Resurrection Life from above.

Likewise, our old heart, as it is washed and cleansed from its decayed state at the Cross and is joined to the Risen Christ, becomes regenerated, converted, conformed, and transformed. Then, it feeds on Christ’s Resurrected Life from above, which creates complete Holy Happiness in our whole being. Our new Life in our New Heart and in our old regenerated heart is hidden in God. Consequently, our Life in our New Heart (and our Life in our old heart that has been regenerated) is safe and secure because it is hidden in the Son, Jesus Christ, Who is hidden in God the Father.

The Blood of Jesus Christ is more than sufficient for our sins: both for the penalty of sin when we experience our Salvation and for the power and presence of sin in our old heart in our daily walk with the LORD. We daily have a chance to sin against God and His Word or to obey Him. Adam-male and female were created perfect—in the Image of God; yet, they had the power of choice to refuse to obey God’s Commands or to follow His Commands and be subordinate to God’s Master Plan and Purposive Will in the Garden. They, of course, chose the pathway of sin.

Chapter Three

Three Steps To The LORD’s Salvation

Lost mankind needs Salvation from his sin, but often people do not know how to find the LORD as their Saviour. However, three simple basic steps will lead anyone to the LORD’s Salvation.

First, a person must believe there is a God; second, he must repent of his sin; and, third, he must accept the Gift of Salvation that the LORD God so freely bestows on those who believe on Him and repent of their sin.

Believing is the elementary stage of confidence in God. It is the conviction that He exists; that He is Holy and Righteous; that He loves His Creation; and that He will not stop until He brings every creature into His Perfect Will, which is to bow in humble submission before Him and serve Him with grateful thanksgiving and loving praises.

But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him (Hebrews 11:6).

As sinners, we must find Salvation, both from the penalty of Death and Hell, and from the power of sin in the old man or our carnal self. Our first basic step toward Salvation is to believe that God is and that He is Who He says He is, as revealed in His Holy Word. We also must believe that God is a Rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. Believing that God is, or that He exists, exerts a powerful, awesome bridle of restraint upon our soul, which prevents us from being eternally lost and from going astray, daily.

Through the First Adam, man lost God. He lost God’s Life; His Light; His Likeness; and he lost God’s Love and Communion. But, through the Second Adam, the LORD Jesus Christ, man has been found.

As sinners, we must believe and seek God early, earnestly, and with perseverance. Once we find God and are reconciled to Him, through the LORD Jesus Christ, we always are increased, afresh and anew, with His Communion, Life, Light, Likeness, and Love. Thank You, sweet Jesus!

Repenting is the second basic step we must take toward the LORD’s Salvation.

And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent: (Acts 17:30).

But shewed first unto them of Damascus, and at Jerusalem, and throughout all the coasts of Judaea, and then to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, and do works meet for repentance (Acts 26:20).

God commands all men everywhere to repent and change their minds and their ways concerning their immorality. They are to be ashamed of their sinful folly and turn from their worship of foolish idols. They are to replace their idolatrous worship with the worship of the True and Living God and His Son, the LORD Jesus Christ. True repentance means turning from sin and feeling shame and sorrow for ever having been a sinner. By entering the Gate of Repentance, we are led to the Rivers of Remission of Sin and Forgiveness.

Repentance leads to Christ’s River of Remission of Sin and the Father’s Forgiveness of sin. God’s Forgiveness of sin lifts a penitent heart above the law of cause and effect. Those who are repentant and who receive Christ and His precious Blood for the atonement of their sins experience His Forgiving or His Taking Away of their immoral crookedness, rebellion, and carelessness toward God and His Word.

God forgives us when we have a penitent heart and are sorry for our departure from God’s straight and narrow Truth. When we repent, God forgives our yielding to temptation in moments of weakness; our willful opposition to His Law of Truth; and our listless carelessness toward His Spirit of Truth.

The Blood of Jesus Christ washes our penitent heart, removing our sin which has caused God to be resentful toward us. Our repentance removes God’s desire to punish us for our sin and cancels His reason to be angry with us. When God sees the perfect Work of the Blood of His Son upon our penitent soul, He pardons us and cancels our debt to Him; therefore, He gives up all His claims and right to punish or to exact a penalty for our offense.

The forgiveness of sin and the removal of sin’s penalty of Death and Hell are obtained by our genuine repentance, as sinners, and by our faith in the precious Blood of the LORD Jesus Christ. The Greek word for repentance stems from several other Greek words which have the following meanings: change of views and purpose, change of heart, change of mind, change of life, and to transform. Repentance in our soul and the receiving of the Blood of Jesus Christ for atonement produce a complete change in our thoughts, feelings, and deeds.

Regeneration by the Holy Ghost accompanies our repentance, as sinners, and follows our faith in the LORD’s Forgiveness, thus making us a new creature in Christ.

The third basic step in Salvation is to accept the LORD Jesus Christ as our personal Saviour, Redeemer, and Justifier.

To accept means to take what is offered or given; to receive something willingly. To accept is to receive. To accept is to consider what one is offered as being worthy, agreeable, and pleasing to receive.

When we accept the LORD Jesus Christ as our Saviour, we become acceptable to the Unbegotten Father, through His only Begotten, Beloved Son.

To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved. In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace; (Ephesians 1:6,7).

If we sow acceptance of Jesus Christ in our heart, we reap acceptance with His Father. All spiritual blessings flow to us through the precious stream of Christ’s Blood, His River of Remission of Sins and Forgiveness of Sins, which made us acceptable to God, the Unbegotten Father; to God’s Family and Kingdom of Light; and to God’s Holy Angels who become ministering spirits to us.

We accept a Living, Resurrected Person, Jesus Christ; therefore, we are accepted by the Heavenly Father in this same Living, Resurrected Person. God has made Christ a Second Adam: Head, Root, Receptacle, and Storehouse, in Whom are hidden all the Treasures of good things that God has communicated to us through Him. Consequently, in Christ the Beloved, all things become new in our life.

Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new (II Corinthians 5:17).

Believing in God and His Son and repenting of sin toward God and accepting Jesus Christ and His precious shed Blood for sin gives us all the following things: a new Man or Likeness, a new Name, a new Walk, a new Life, a new Light, a new Love, a new Heart, a new Nature, a new Cloak of Righteousness, and a new Grace. God’s Regenerating Grace creates a new spiritual world in our penitent soul; thus, the broken breach of friendship between God and us is reconciled.

Chapter Four

God’s Provision Of Salvation In Jesus Christ

A guilty world stands convicted and condemned at God’s Bar of Justice. Consequently, it needs the Good News of believing, repenting, and accepting pardon.

And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem (Luke 24:47).

God’s Spirit within us bears witness when we have genuinely believed, repented, and accepted pardon.

The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: (Romans 8:16).

The words save, saved, saviour, and salvation occur many times in the Bible, and they all have their derivation from the Hebrew root word yaw-shah, meaning to be open, wide or free, to be safe, avenging, defending, delivering, helping, preserving, rescuing, having salvation, getting victory, and saving.

For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things! (Romans 10:13-15).

Christ’s Salvation is for whosoever shall call on the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ. We are saved by the LORD Jesus Christ; however, we, first, must call on Him. Christ Jesus is not a respecter of persons, and His Salvation is for whosoever calls, believes, repents, and accepts His Gift of Grace. How grateful we should be for the simple, comprehensive declaration of God’s Gift of Grace!

All the world needs a Saviour. The words Salvation and Saviour simply mean deliverance.

We speak of a person being saved from drowning, from a burning building, or from a sinking ship. Whatever the case of salvation, the three following things are taken for granted:

- The person who needed to be saved was in danger of death.

- Someone saw the danger and went to his rescue.

- The rescuer was successful in delivering the person from his perilous plight; therefore, he saved him.

Salvation from sin is a Gift of God. God saw the condition and danger the whole world was in, so He gave His Son, Jesus Christ, as a Perfect Sacrifice for the sins of the world.

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved (John 3:16,17).

God the Father is the Originator of our repentance, regeneration, and reconciliation, through His Beloved Son, Jesus Christ, Who always was His Father’s Delight, because He always fulfilled His Father’s Master Plan and performed His Purposive Will. The Father’s Design in sending His Son was that the world might be saved through Him. God sent His Son into a guilty, rebellious, apostate world so that the world might be saved through the sacrifice of His Son’s Righteous, Holy Life and through the resurrection of His Holy, Righteous Life.

We stand in guilt and condemnation before the Father, but Jesus removes our guilt and condemnation when we call on Him, believe, repent, and accept Him into our heart. Christ’s Salvation to the world is freely given to all.

For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast (Ephesians 2:8,9).

We cannot earn Salvation by our own efforts. Yet, we are responsible for placing ourself in a position to receive God’s Gift. Salvation always begins with God; He is the Initiator. His part is to draw us to Himself. Our part is to respond to God’s Drawing Power. By repenting and realizing our need of a Saviour, we will be drawn to God through His Spirit. God gives us His Gift of Salvation through Jesus Christ so that we can have a New Heart created in us; thus our New Heart can perform the good works of His Master Plan and Purposive Will.

The Gospel is “Good News” to an impenitent sinner. God has provided Salvation through the Person and Word of His beloved Son. Briefly stated, the Gospel is the Message of the Death, Burial, and Resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures: (I Corinthians 15:1-4).

The purpose of Jesus Christ’s Incarnation was to save impenitent sinners. Christ, the Word of God, became Incarnate in order to provide Salvation for mankind.

The Gospel is this same Immutable, Changeless Truth: Jesus Christ died on the Cross, was buried, went to Death and Hell, and rose again on the third day. The doctrine of the Crucified Christ and the Resurrected Christ is the whole foundation of Christianity. If we remove this foundation, we destroy the whole Building of Eternal Hope and Salvation and spiritual growth unto the Measure of the Stature of the Fullness of Christ, thus the whole Building sinks. It is this blessed Hope, Salvation, and spiritual growth that keeps us steadfast and sure in the midst of painful temptations and trials and in the midst of pleasurable blessings of prosperity. The Name of Jesus is our Salvation.

And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins (Matthew 1:21).

Jesus came to save both impenitent sinners—with His Salvation from the penalty of sin, which is Death and Hell—and penitent sin-ners—with His Salvation from the power of sin in the old heart or flesh. God’s Love is not confined to one of His creatures, but He loves His entire world of creatures.

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life (John 3:16).

God’s Love Gift of His Only Begotten Son is the origin and fountainhead of our Salvation, our reconciliation with the Unbegotten Father, and our regeneration of our old man or old heart by the Spirit. From His Love, the Unbegotten Father gave His only Begotten Son as the expiatory Sacrifice for sin and for the making of peace between Heaven and Earth. How great is the wonder of God’s Love for a worthless world of impenitent souls! Yet, He sent His Son to ransom or buy back these worthless wrecks of impenitent souls.

For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many (Mark 10:45).

Jesus, the Son of Man, came down from Heaven to Earth and submitted Himself to the greatest hazards and to the most painful hardships in order to take on the form of a servant and enter into His Ministry as a Servant. Jesus came not to be ministered to, but to minister, graciously, to the needs of others. Jesus’ humble Servant-Ministry led Him to the Cross to give His Life as a ransom for us. Since He died for our benefit, shall we not live, by His Resurrection Life, for His benefit?

Jesus and His Resurrected Life make Him an Eternal, Divine Physician. All earthly physicians are helpless after Death. But, Jesus, the Great Physician, is All Powerful before Death, through Death, and after Death has destroyed even our earthly form of life. The key to open the door of Christ’s Resurrection Life is faith in His Power to overcome Death, both now and forever!

But when Jesus heard that, he said unto them, They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick.… While he spake these things unto them, behold, there came a certain ruler, and worshipped him, saying, My daughter is even now dead: but come and lay thy hand upon her, and she shall live (Matthew 9:12,18).

Jesus informed the Pharisees that only those who realize they are sick will call upon the Physician, as Jairus did when his daughter was sick unto death. The rich ruler came humbly to Jesus after his daughter’s death, believing in Jesus’ Resurrection Life and His Willingness to share it. Jesus rewarded Jairus’ humility and faith by following him to his house. There, in the midst of laughter and scorn, Jesus ministered His Begotten Resurrection Life.

Jesus is a good Shepherd, Who gave His Begotten Resurrection Life on the Cross for His sheep so that He might obtain God the Father’s Unbegotten Resurrection Life out of His Obedient Death in Death and Hell, which the Father gave to Him on the third day. Thus, He has All Power of All Resurrection Life, both in Heaven and in Earth. Oh, glorious mystery of Love and Life!

I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.… As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father: and I lay down my life for the sheep. And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd. Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again. No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father (John 10:11,15-18).

It is the nature of every good shepherd to risk his life for his sheep. Jacob is an example of a good shepherd who went through such great fatigue to guard them and minister to them (Genesis 31:40). Likewise, David, when he slew the lion and the bear, risked his life to rescue his sheep (I Samuel 17:34-36). However, Jesus Christ, the Great, Good Shepherd, not only risked His Life, but He gave His Life to purchase His sheep, His flock (Acts 20:28), to satisfy their debt and pay for their trespass. He shed His precious Blood to wash, cleanse, and heal them. Jesus is the Best and Greatest Shepherd of all!

- He is the Divine Shepherd Who takes the oversight of His sheep.

- He is the Almighty, Skillful Shepherd Who cares for His sheep.

- He is the Eternally Faithful Shepherd Who is always there for His sheep.

- He is the Humanly, Humbly Tender Shepherd Who understands His sheep.

- He is the Sovereign, Supreme-Leader Shepherd Who knows where the still waters are.

- He is the Eternal-Feeder Shepherd Who gives His own Scarred Body for Bread and His own Shed, Wounded Blood for Drink for His sheep.

- He is the Great-Governor Shepherd Who defends and protects His sheep.

- He is the Everlasting-Healer Shepherd Who makes His sheep eternally whole.

Jesus Christ, God’s Holy, Spotless Lamb, died as a substitute for sinners. On the Cross, the sinless Lamb, the Son of God was made sin for us!

For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him (II Corinthians 5:21).

Our Sacrificial Lamb and Mediator was Pure. He knew no sin, although He was made sin or a Sin Offering for us.

God the Father’s Master Plan and Purposive Will in Jesus’ Suffering and Holy Sacrifice for our sin is that we might be made the Righteousness of God in Him; therefore, we can be justified freely by God’s Grace through the Redemption which is in Him. Thus, we who were impenitent sinners, without any righteousness of our own, are made the Righteousness of God in Jesus Christ. Our only means of reconciliation to God is through the Lord Jesus Christ and for the merit of His Sake only. Consequently, all Glory and Praise be unto Him! Thank You, precious Jesus!

May we, as penitent sinners and sheep of His pasture, remember, forever, that He is the One Who bore our sins in His own Body on the Tree of the Cross.

Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed (I Peter 2:24).

Jesus Christ, the Tree of Life, was nailed to a Tree of Death with our sins.

When man ate of the forbidden Tree, the Tree of Death, he was driven out of the Garden, lest he try to join the Tree of Death to the Tree of Life out of season, without the Holy Sin Offering Blood of the Lamb being on top of the union of the Trees of Death and Life.

Jesus had a dual ministry on the Cross: first, He was to join Himself, the Tree of Life, to the Tree of Death so that He could find His Father’s Unbegotten Life to swallow up Death; second, He sent His Resurrected Blood to wash away the sin that was joined to Death in the first place. Thus, as a Living Tree of Life, Jesus Christ put away disobedient Death and sin with the Holy “Sap” of His Holy Blood and His Tree of Life. How great is the mystery of Christ’s Redemption through His Wounds that are Eternal Spouts from His Fountain, through which His Resurrected Blood flows!

But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed (Isaiah 53:5).

The consequences of Christ’s Living Wounds are His Living Spouts. From this Fountain, His Blood flows, giving us our peace, our healing, and our Eternal Union with Him. Jesus made peace by the Blood of His Cross. By submitting vicariously to our chastisements, He slew the enmity between God and man. By our sin, we were odious to God’s Holiness and obnoxious to His Just Judgment. Jesus, through His Suffering and Death, has healed and is healing our sick souls of the diseases of sin and Death. When we were without strength and love, Christ loved us and died for us.

For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him (Romans 5:6-9).

Christ’s Death and Blood are the foundation and the fountain of our Salvation, Justification, and Life in Him. What Strength Jesus Christ, the Tree of Life, has that He can swallow up the Tree of Death with its attached sin. Christ’s Fountain of Blood is precious; and sweet are its streams that flow freely to us as we call on His precious Name.

The Tree of Sin and Disobedient Death came through the First Adam. But, through the Obedient Death of Jesus Christ, the Tree of Life, came Righteousness and Life.

Jesus Christ died for the helpless, who have no strength. He died for the ungodly, who have no godliness. He died for sinners, who have no Holiness. He died for enemies, who have no friends. But, God commended or entrusted His Love to us and for us through His Son on the Cross.

The Name of Jesus Christ is the only Name given under Heaven whereby man must be saved. Salvation can come through no other Name and no other Person because God put His Love in Christ’s Name and Person.

Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him doth this man stand here before you whole. This is the stone which was set at nought of you builders, which is become the head of the corner. Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved (Acts 4:10-12).

God the Father indicated His complete acceptance of and satisfaction in the Sacrifice of Christ by resurrecting Him from the dead and seating Him at His own Right Hand in Heavenly Places. When the Jews laid hands on Peter and John because they had healed the lame man and, then, demanded by what Name they had done this miracle, Peter boldly declared the Power and Authority of the Name of Jesus. Peter proclaimed, under the Power of the Holy Ghost, that the Name of Jesus was the Stone which God had sent to them, which they had rejected for their spiritual Building. Nevertheless, God still made Jesus, the Chief Cornerstone in His Spiritual Building so that the Gentiles could accept the Chief Cornerstone which the Jews had rejected. The Name of Jesus is the beginning of all spiritual Building—from Salvation in the Foundation of His Stature—to the mature Capstone in the top of the Building or His Stature.

God has appointed Jesus Christ to be a Prince and a Saviour; therefore, we need to preach the Name of Jesus and His Salvation and to publish the Laws of the Prince of Peace.

Him hath God exalted with his right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour, for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins (Acts 5:31).

We cannot be saved from the power of sin in our old heart until we come under the Government of Jesus Christ, God’s Royal Prince. It is Jesus Who is the Prince that will judge our fleshly nature by revealing its existence and its operation in our thoughts, feelings, and deeds. Then, the Saviour will come with His Mercy and Grace to crucify and mortify the unChristlike things in our old heart.

Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead (Acts 17:31).

God, through the Apostle Paul, commanded men everywhere to repent because the LORD has appointed a day to judge the world in Righteousness. There is an appointed Day of the LORD in which He will demand retribution from impenitent sinners who have spurned Christ’s Righteousness. Without Christ’s Righteousness to clothe us in God’s appointed Day of Judgment, we will stand naked and ashamed before Him. God’s appointed Day of Judgment will be a fearful, awesome day.

Chapter Five

Our Part In Our Salvation

Through Jesus Christ, God has provided for our Salvation from sin, with its just punishment of Death and Hell. God’s Part of Salvation is finished; Jesus Christ’s Part in the Plan of our Salvation is finished; but the responsibility of accepting God’s Gift of Salvation rests, now, upon each of us as impenitent sinners.

I.  We Must Believe in Jesus Christ.

After the Apostle Paul and Silas had been beaten and thrust into prison and had had their hands and feet put in stocks for the preaching of the Gospel, God sent a great earthquake. All the prison’s doors were opened, and the bonds of the prisoners were loosed. The keeper of the prison was extremely frightened because he supposed that all the prisoners had fled. Consequently, he was about to kill himself when Paul called out to him, informing him that everyone was still there. Then, the keeper sprang in with his light and, falling down before Paul and Silas, enquired how to be saved.

And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house (Acts 16:30,31).

The keeper lost all concern for the other prisoners and for everything else in the world. His only concern was the Salvation of his own precious soul and how to obtain that Salvation. To his inquiry, the Apostle Paul replied that he should believe on the LORD Jesus Christ, put his whole confidence in the Person of Jesus Christ, accept His Person as real and true, and have faith in the Truth, Existence, and Efficacy of Christ’s Salvation. The keeper of the jail did not inquire for others; he only said, “What must I do.” Paul assured the jailer that his belief in Jesus Christ would be so great that it also would influence his whole house to receive Christ’s Salvation.

If we believe the witness of men, we should believe God’s Witness of His Son, since God’s Witness is greater than the witness of men.

If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater: for this is the witness of God which he hath testified of his Son. He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself: he that believeth not God hath made him a liar; because he believeth not the record that God gave of his Son. And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life (I John 5:9-12).

The authority and acceptability of God’s Testimony about His Son has been proven by God Himself because He gave His Son His Own Unbegotten Resurrection Power. God’s Witness is Truth itself of the highest, unquestionable Divine Infallibility.

The uniformity of God’s Witness about His Son consists in the Unity of the Unbegotten Heavenly Father, the Unbegotten Infinite Word, and the Unbegotten Holy Spirit Who agree in all things. God, Who cannot lie, has given Eternal Assurance to the sinful world that Jesus Christ is His Son, the Son of His Infinite Love, and that He sent His Son to do the following things: to recover the world from its lost condition; to reconcile the world to Himself; to redeem the world from its sin; and to remit the sins of the world by forgiving them. How unspeakable is God’s Witness of His Son!

As sinners, we can repent all day, but forgiveness does not come until we believe in our heart—not just in our head—God’s Testimony concerning the Person of His Son, Jesus Christ, and the efficacy of His Redemptive Work.

II.  We Must Repent.

John came preaching repentance, and after John had finished his ministry and was in prison, Jesus continued preaching the message of repentance.

Now after that John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel (Mark 1:14,15).

God’s Kingdom and Humble King had come; therefore, there was great need for repentance in Israel for their prideful expectation of an Exalted Messiah Who would come in great Glory and external Pomp and Power to deliver them and free them from the Roman yoke of bondage. They needed to repent of their idolatrous images of external freedom before they could see that God’s first priority is to free us internally, from the power of sin in the old heart or old man.

And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent: (Acts 17:30).

Repentance means a change of mind in regard to our attitude toward sin, self, the Saviour, and Salvation. Real mental change brings about a change in thoughts and feelings, internally, and brings about an external change in our actions. This change is accomplished by faith in the Word of God and in the Person of Jesus Christ.

Active faith in the Atoning Blood of Jesus Christ leads to true repentance and an internal change of heart and an external change in our life. Repentance is more than just our being sorry for our sins. It means having godly sorrow to such a degree that we quit sinning; we depart from it; and we return to God.

III.  We Must Accept Jesus Christ as Our Personal Saviour.

As individuals, we must accept Jesus Christ, personally, and acknowledge that He died for us; that He took our place in Hell and Death; and that He accomplished all the Work needed for our Salvation. By the act of our own will, we must acknowledge ourself to be a guilty, lost sinner before God. We must accept Jesus Christ’s finished Work on Calvary’s Cross by receiving Him as our own personal Saviour. After committing ourself to the Lordship of Jesus Christ, we must rejoice with gratitude and thanksgiving for our Salvation.

Jesus promised that if we would hear His Word and believe on His Unbegotten Father we would have Everlasting Life.

Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life (John 5:24).

Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life (John 6:47).

Jesus said that if we would believe that His Unbegotten Heavenly Father had sent Him to be a Judge and a Mediator between impenitent sinners and God, He would give us Everlasting Life.

We must abide in the Words of the Son Who is the Judge of impenitent sinners and the Mediator of penitent sinners. The whole Plan and Purpose of the Son is to bring all sinful creation back to God, His Father. As our Judge, Christ Jesus discharges us from the curse of the Law and frees us from the state of being under Eternal Condemnation, if we only believe on His Mercy and Grace, which He extends in our behalf.

In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation in whom also, after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, (Ephesians 1:13).

Under the Old Testament Covenant, it was hear and live. Under the New Testament Covenant, it is believe and live. By believing, we can cast ourself upon Christ’s Mercy and Grace and live. Through believing, we lay hold of our Eternal Inheritance that the Father has given us in His Son.

Chapter Six

We Have An Assurance Of Salvation

After we have trusted Christ and have believed in Him, God baptizes us with His Holy Spirit as a Seal of Promise on our full inheritance in Christ. The Holy Ghost seals us so that we can be separated or set apart for God with a distinguished mark, making known that we belong solely to Him. God’s Spirit is the earnest or down payment on our future inheritance.

Our emotions and choices are involved in the process of becoming a Christian. However, warm emotional feelings cannot stand alone. They must be accompanied by cool choices in our will in order for us to turn from Lucifer’s darkness to Christ’s Glorious Light of Truth. This really makes us a Christian.

Take, for instance, the case of a person coming from another land to live in our country. He may love our country and “feel” a part of it, but he remains an alien until he has made a cool choice to abandon his citizenship in his old country and become a citizen of the new country. He also has to meet certain legal requirements, and he has to wait until he officially has been declared a citizen by the proper authorities.

This is true with our Salvation. Feelings do not save us because feelings can change from moment to moment. The assurance of our Salvation comes through faith in Christ Jesus’ finished Work at Calvary’s Cross and God’s Faithfulness to perform that which He has promised. When a penitent man has done, in good faith, what God asks of him, by repenting and believing, he has the assurance that God will fulfill His Promises.

We are saved by taking the necessary steps toward Salvation, in obedience to the Word of God. Once we have done our part, God certainly will do His Part. God plainly declares in His Word that every soul who trusts in His Son is forgiven, saved, and becomes a possessor of Eternal Life.

Through the Mercy and Grace of our LORD Jesus Christ, the Gospel of repentance and remission of sins is preached.

Be it known unto you therefore, men and brethren, that through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins: (Acts 13:38).

Through Jesus Christ and His precious shed Blood, the Father is able to give up His Resentment against us and His Desire to punish us for breaking His Torah-Truth. He stops being angry with us for Christ’s Sake.

I write unto you, little children, because your sins are forgiven you for his name’s sake (I John 2:12).

Because of Christ’s Sake, God the Father gives up all claim to punish us or exact a penalty from us for our offenses. He cancels or remits our sinful debts that we owed that we could not pay. God forgives penitent sinners for the Sake of Jesus Christ’s Saving, Redeeming Name. Christ’s Grace grants us the faith and confidence we need to receive His Gift of Salvation.

For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: (Ephesians 2:8).

Jesus Christ brought about our Salvation through His Converting Grace. Everything for our Salvation was accomplished by Jesus Christ; we could not save ourself. Our Salvation is not a product of our own abilities or merits. It is God’s Gift through His Son Jesus Christ. Christ’s Name Saves, Sanctifies, and Justifies us.

And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God (I Corinthians 6:11).

Some who were wicked sinners before their conversion to Christ were changed into precious saints after their conversion. What glorious Grace that can change a sinner to a saint! God’s marvelous Grace in Christ can change and make the vilest sinner clean. The wickedness of men before conversion cannot prevent Jesus Christ’s Name and Grace from regenerating them and reconciling them to God.

The Apostle Paul reminded converted Christians that they had been washed, sanctified, and justified by the Name of Christ and by the Spirit of God.

God’s Immutable, Changeless Word assures us that we can know that we have Eternal Life in Christ Jesus.

These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God (I John 5:13).

The Apostle John’s reason for writing to the believers was for their comfort, satisfaction, and assurance concerning their Salvation. God’s Written Word is a comfort and confirmation to believers of their experiences in Christ’s Salvation. God’s Infallible Word continues to generate faith in our heart so that we can continue progressing in our believing in our Saviour, Jesus Christ. God’s Word encourages us to persevere to the end of life’s journey with a strong, steadfast faith in Jesus Christ. Faith in Christ Jesus generates peace within the soul.

Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: (Romans 5:1).

The penitent sinner is justified or freed from sin through faith in Christ Jesus. Therefore, he is freed from the penalty of sin and is accepted by God as righteous or worthy of being saved. Jesus’ Grace and Saving Blood frees us from blame; declares us guiltless; and acquits us from the penalty of sin. Christ shows us His Just and Right Way after we have repented, believed, and accepted Him in our heart.

No condemnation nor adverse judgment can be passed on us after we have been saved.

There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit (Romans 8:1).

When we walk after God’s Holy Spirit, there is no one who can prove us guilty of wrongdoing; declare us to be guilty; or give a judicial decision against us because we are in Christ Jesus. We are chastened and corrected as children of God, but we are not condemned with the world. Christ Jesus is our City of Refuge; therefore, we are protected from Lucifer, the avenger of blood. Jesus did not say that we would not have crosses, afflictions, and pains, but we do not have condemnation when we are in Christ Jesus.

After Christ Jesus has saved us from Eternal Condemnation, we must choose how we walk—in the flesh or in the Spirit—in our old nature or in our New Nature—in the corruption of the old heart or in Christ’s Grace in the New Heart. If we follow Jesus Christ, our Faithful, Good Shepherd, we will walk in the Spirit, in our New Man, and in Christ’s Grace.

My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand I and my Father are one (John 10:27-30).

Jesus described the blessed privilege that His sheep have of hearing His Word, His Voice. What glorious joy to sit at Jesus’ Feet and learn of His Holy, Life-giving Word! What delight! It is so satisfying not only to hear His precious Word but also to be a doer of it and to make it our Governor and Guide in life.

Christ’s true sheep always follow Him in willing obedience to His Command and in cheerful conformity to His Laws.

Christ Jesus, the Shepherd, gives Eternal Life to His sheep. Since man’s soul is a living soul, the greatest Gift to it is Life —Eternal Life. The Father’s special Unbegotten Love, Power, and Strength prevent any creature from snatching His Son’s sheep out of His Hand. The saints and their Salvation are preserved in the Father’s Hand through Christ Jesus.

I.  Our Privilege, as Believers, Is to Know that We Are Saved and Justified.

If we believe on the Name of the Son of God, we may know that we have Eternal Life in this present life, and we may know that we are justified in this present life.

And by him all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses (Acts 13:39).

Christ has justified us from all the guilt and stain of sin which Moses’ Law was incapable of doing. What peace rules in the heart when we know that we have been acquitted of our guilt and accepted in God’s Sight as righteous. The Blood of Jesus Christ is the only Blood that could satisfy God’s offended Justice and pacify the wounded, scarred conscience of the sinner. Through Jesus Christ, we have obtained complete justification from sin and complete atonement for sin.

We may know that we are a Son of God by receiving Jesus Christ.

But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: (John 1:12).

When we receive Jesus Christ as our Saviour, we receive His Power to become a son of God. The Hebrew word for power is oze, meaning strength, force, security, majesty, praise, boldness, loud, might.

Let us look at some examples of God’s Power or Strength so that we can understand the Power of God that will lead us to grow up as a manifested Son of God.

The LORD is my strength and song, and he is become my salvation: he is my God, and I will prepare him an habitation; my father’s God, and I will exalt him (Exodus 15:2).

Oze Power is the Strength of God’s Headship. Oze is the Power of God’s Resistance against all enemies and His Invincibility to remain unconquered by any of His enemies. All of Pharaoh’s resistance and obstinate opposition against God’s Oze Strength in the Red Sea left God untouched.

II.  We Can Know that We Have Eternal Life.

The Testimony of Scripture is the Testimony of God. If we have real faith in Christ, then we have God’s own Written Testimony that our sins are forgiven, through our faith and through His Mercy, and that we are a child of God and that we possess Eternal Life.

He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him (John 3:36).

God has put His Honour upon His Son; therefore, we must put our honour upon Him by believing in Him. We partake of God’s Divine Favors of Wisdom, Knowledge, and Everlasting Life in Jesus Christ by believing in Him. Christ’s Everlasting Life gives love, joy, peace, and bright hope for tomorrow.

The Old Testament Prophets also bore witness of the Salvation that would be manifested in the Messiah, Jesus Christ.

To him give all the prophets witness, that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins (Acts 10:43).

The Old Testament Prophets, when they spoke of the Death of Christ, witnessed that through His Name, for His Sake, and upon His Merit, whosoever believeth (Jew or Gentile) shall receive remission of sins. Remission of sins is the foundation upon which God bestows all other favors and blessings. If sin is pardoned, all is everlastingly well.

It is possible for us to know that we have passed from death unto life from the testimony of life itself.

We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death (I John 3:14).

The Life of Love is the Life of God; it is Eternal Life. Selfishness is Death. God’s Life in our heart makes us love the brethren with the same kind of love that Jesus possesses, the kind that lays down its life for the brethren.

We can know that we are a child of God because the Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit.

The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: (Romans 8:16).

The Work of the Holy Spirit is to sanctify, to comfort, and to bear witness with our spirit that we are the children of God. It is unimportant how our spirit witnesses unless it is joined to the Witness of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit’s Witness always is agreeable to God’s Written Word.

Even so we, when we were children, were in bondage under the elements of the world: But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons. And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father (Galatians 4:3-6).

Thus, we have a fourfold assurance of our Salvation. We have the Testimony of God in the Written Word; the Testimony of a Life of Love; the Testimony of the Spirit of God; and the Testimony of our heart, crying Abba Father.

In view of God’s Unspeakably Marvelous Gift to us, in the form of His only Begotten Son, and in view of the Supreme Price Jesus Christ has paid to redeem us from our fallen, sinful state, our part of just believing in His finished Work for our Salvation seems pitifully small. Yet, it is a mistake for us to think that we can ignore our part and still receive Salvation. God has created us as free moral agents, and it is our privilege and responsibility in this life to choose the Gift of Eternal Life that God has so freely given through His Son. Failure to make this choice is a choice for Spiritual Death, now, and in the Eternal Ages to come.

May God bless the Truths in this booklet to your heart so that you may have more faith in the One and only True God; a greater belief in His Son Jesus Christ; and an everlasting assurance of your Salvation through the Spirit of God as you feel His Witness to these Truths from His Word.