The Blood of Christ/The Face of God/The Light Of His Face

Rev5:
9 And they sang a new song, saying, "Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation, 10and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth."

A question was recently presented to me re in regards to the efficacy of the blood of Jesus, and the issue of God’s looking upon us or not. i.e. His countenance turned toward us, or turned away from us. The immensity of this subject soon became apparent as I began to study it.I would like to first start with this quote from Dr. John Piper:

“Beware of the pleasant view of God that He is so kind and loving that of course He will forgive us. Forgiveness, which is so easy for us to accept cost the agony of Calvary. Forgiveness cost God the cross of Jesus before He could forgive sin, and remain a holy God. The revelation of God is that He cannot forgive, because it would contradict His nature if He did. The only way we can be forgiven is by being brought back to God by the atonement of Jesus’ shed blood.”
John Piper (From: God is the Gospel)

In conjunction with this quote we have this rather alarming passage where Joshua speaks to the people. He had just declared “as for me and my house we will serve the Lord” and the people responded that they would also serve the Lord. This is Joshua’s response to their declaration;

Joshua 24:
19 But Joshua said to the people, "You are not able to serve the LORD, for he is a holy God. He is a jealous God; he will not forgive your transgressions or your sins."

What he said here is true. No one is able to serve the Lord, that is of their own power and will. God is holy and jealous. If they err in their service He will not forgive their sins nor their transgressions. This supports the quote from Piper. God is perfection and His perfection is the standard in all things. Now thanks be to God for giving us Jesus Christ, His Son, who is the Lamb that was slain and who is foreknown from before the foundation of the world. God foreknew the need for the shed blood of the lamb before He even began to create this universe.

1Peter 1:
17 And if you call on him as Father who judges impartially according to each one's deeds, conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile, 18 knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot, 20 He was foreknown before the foundation of the world but was made manifest in the last times for the sake of you 21 who through him are believers in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.

The righteous wash their robes in the blood of the Lamb, and only those who do so can enter the New Jerusalem. The blood washes clean, it doesn’t even leave a “bloodstain”. The robes of the righteous are made white when washed in His blood. This is an important point.

Rev 7:
13 Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, "Who are these, clothed in white robes, and from where have they come?" 14 I said to him, "Sir, you know." And he said to me, "These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

Rev 22:
14Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the tree of life and that they may enter the city by the gates.

A blood-washed garment is a requirement for entering the New Jerusalem.

Matthew 22:
11 "But when the king came in to look at the guests, he saw there a man who had no wedding garment. 12 And he said to him, 'Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding garment?' And he was speechless. 13 Then the king said to the attendants, 'Bind him hand and foot and cast him into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.' 14 For many are called, but few are chosen."

I will leave this for a moment and go to the issue of God’s face, looking, or not looking, upon us. Here are 3 passages among many that deal with this:

Ezekiel 7:
22 I will turn my face from them, and they shall profane my treasured place. Robbers shall enter and profane it.

Ezekiel was giving this word from God to Israel.

Psalm 27:
9 Hide not your face from me. Turn not your servant away in anger, O you who have been my help. Cast me not off; forsake me not, O God of my salvation!

Here David is asking the Lord not to hide His face from Him, this actually is preceded by his declaration in verse 8;

8 You have said, "Seek my face." My heart says to you, "Your face, LORD, do I seek."

So David is seeking God’s face, but he also is aware that if God chooses to hide His face from us, all such seeking is in vain. Ezekiel’s prophecy shows us that God did turn His face away from them, and He had done this not just once, but several times as they were always lapsing into the sin of idolatry. There was a constant cycle of obedience and disobedience throughout the history of Israel. God was constantly turning His face from them, but promising to turn back to them if they would repent. Repentance under the Mosaic Covenant required man to turn back to God but also required God to turn His face back towards men. There had to be a permanent solution to this. David foresaw this;

Psalm 51:
9 Hide your face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities.

An amazing revelation was given to David which led to this prayer; that God could hide His face from David’s sins, but not hide His face from David. All of his iniquities were to be blotted out, i.e. as if they never existed. God cannot tolerate sin in any way. However a way had to be made for Him to “look upon” the sinner. How was this made possible?


Hebrews 9:
22 Indeed, under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.

Hebrews 10:
1 For since the law has but a shadow of the good things to come instead of the true form of these realities, it can never, by the same sacrifices that are continually offered every year, make perfect those who draw near. 2 Otherwise, would they not have ceased to be offered, since the worshipers, having once been cleansed, would no longer have any consciousness of sins? 3 But in these sacrifices there is a reminder of sins every year. 4 For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.

God gave the Law at Sinai to Moses along with the directions concerning the appropriate blood sacrifices for the covering of their sins. This blood sacrifice covered sins, but did not “remove” them.The sacrifices had to be offered in a yearly cycle. This was God's grace to those who lived under the Mosaic Covenant.

Hebrews 11:
39 And all these, though commended through their faith, did not receive what was promised, 40 since God had provided something better for us, that apart from us they should not be made perfect.

As Paul would later write:

Romans 7:
10 The very commandment that promised life proved to be death to me. 11 For sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, deceived me and through it killed me. 12 So the law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good. 13 Did that which is good, then, bring death to me? By no means! It was sin, producing death in me through what is good, in order that sin might be shown to be sin, and through the commandment might become sinful beyond measure.

The Law and the ceremonial ordinances point the way to the fulfillment of all things in Christ, which would include the need for the shedding of blood. Even the Passover account, which has men applying the blood to their homes, and the destroyer passing over every house where God sees the blood, points forward to Christ as fulfillment.( Exodus 12:13)

Matthew 5:
17 "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. 18 For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished.

God had a better way which was to come:

Hebrews 9:
13 For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the sprinkling of defiled persons with the ashes of a heifer, sanctify for the purification of the flesh, 14 how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God. 15 Therefore he is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance, since a death has occurred that redeems them from the transgressions committed under the first covenant.

By the shedding of His blood as the Lamb who is the final sacrifice, Christ fulfilled the righteous requirement of the Law.

Hebrews10:
12 But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, 13 waiting from that time until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet. 14 For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified. 15 And the Holy Spirit also bears witness to us; for after saying, 16 "This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my laws on their hearts, and write them on their minds," 17 then he adds, "I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more." 18 Where there is forgiveness of these, there is no longer any offering for sin. 19 Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, 20 by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, 21 and since we have a great priest over the house of God, 22 let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. 23 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful.

Christ entered into the holy of holies in heaven itself as the great, and last high priest, with His own blood, as the great, and last, sacrifice. He then sat down at the Father’s right hand awaiting the day when He will return.

Ephesians 1:
17 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, 18 having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, 19 and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might 20 that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, 21 far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. 22 And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, 23 which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.

Christ is head over His Body, the church, which of course would be us and all who are His. This is taken literally. We are His actual body, but here is even more:

Ephesians 2:
4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ--by grace you have been saved-- 6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.

Because we are His body, we are seated with Him right now in heavenly places.So now the Father can look upon me and not see my iniquities, He sees His Son in whom we are placed. Our transgressions and iniquities are washed clean in the blood, which He himself brought into the holy of holies. They are gone forever. We are perfected for all time and there no longer remains any sacrifice necessary for the forgiveness of sins. The blood washes white as snow.

Isaiah 1:
18 "Come now, let us reason together, says the LORD: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool.

I believe that the blood-washed robes are made from lamb’s wool. The scarlet garment has become white as snow. The blood washes away the stain of sin revealing the robe of wool. (Rev 7:14)

Romans 8:
29For those whom he foreknew, he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. 30And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.

The Father now looks upon His obedient Son, who is also High Priest, and King of kings,He doesn’t even see the blood, as He did on the doorposts at Passover.That blood was applied by men. Christ as High Priest sprinkles His own blood.His sacrifice is done once, for all time. I had referenced Revelation 7 earlier which says; "They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.”Our robes are washed WHITE, by the blood. Even the blood is not visible. It doesn’t just cover, it “takes away” the stain of sin, and leaves no stain of its’ own.

John 1:
29 The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, "Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!

We are in Christ. He sees all of His sons and daughters in and through His Son.

Psalm 80:
3 Restore us, O LORD God of hosts! Let your face shine, that we may be saved! (Also verses 7 and 19)

God’s face shines upon, i.e. illuminates whatever He looks upon.

1John1:
5 This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. 6 If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. 7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. 8 If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.

We who are restored in this manner, (that is, those who walk in the light), are walking before the face of God. That place is where we confess our sins and the cleansing power of Jesus’ blood is evident. All sins are forgiven and washed away.They do not exist, as nothing unrighteous or impure can exist in His sight/light.

Eph 5:
13 But when anything is exposed by the light, it becomes visible, 14 for anything that becomes visible is light. Therefore it says, "Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you."

Christ is the light of God’s face. There was a time when The Father could not look upon us, who were once dead in our sins. This also meant that we were not able look upon Him.

John 14:
9 Jesus said to him, "Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, 'Show us the Father'?

Now the Father looks upon us through His Son and we look upon the Father in the same manner.The light of God's face,i.e. Christ the light, is now the eternal propitiation.

1John 2:
1 My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. 2 He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.

Hebrews 7:
25Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.

“I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more." (Hebrews 10:17 and Jeremiah 31:34)

The blood of Christ is so effective in its’ work that the Father no longer remembers our sins.

Psalm89:
15 Blessed are the people who know the festal shout, who walk, O LORD, in the light of your face, 16 who exult in your name all the day and in your righteousness are exalted.

The shed blood of the Lamb of God is the way by which God will forever look upon us and we upon Him.

Psalm67:
1 To the choirmaster: with stringed instruments. A Psalm; A Song; May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face to shine upon us, Selah!

Soli Deo Gloria!

The Relevancy Of The Gospel

The message and its’ messenger defined:

Romans 1:
1Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, 2which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy Scriptures, 3concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh 4and was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord, 5through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of his name among all the nations, 6including you who are called to belong to Jesus Christ, 7To all those in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Romans 1:
16For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. 17For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, "The righteous shall live by faith."

The relevancy of the message:

2 Cor 2:
14But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere. 15For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing, 16 to one a fragrance from death to death, to the other a fragrance from life to life. Who is sufficient for these things? 17For we are not, like so many, peddlers of God’s word, but as men of sincerity, as commissioned by God, in the sight of God we speak in Christ.

The triumphal procession was a more or less a "parade", a roman custom of great pomp in which a conquering general, or leader would be honored. The procession would consist of the conquering army, musicians, booty and prisoners captured in battle. There would be flower and incense bearers as part of the pageantry, hence Paul's allusion to the "aroma" There is also the comparison of Christ's triumphant entry into Jerusalem in which palm branches heralded His entry.
However the jews proved to be as fickle as the Romans and their "that was yesterday, what have you done for me today" attitude, for just a scant week later, they were calling for His crucifixion. Paul is also using this metaphor to show that there is an army of God being lead by the true conqueror, the King of kings, and those who are being lead by Him are the incense and flower bearers of the good news. Unfortunately for those on the wrong side of the "war", the aroma which announces this coming procession signifies the entry of death and defeat, while to those who hail the Lord, it is the aroma of life. Verse 17 is a sobering thought. How many "peddlers" are out there bearing artificial flowers and incense of their own making? (Exodus 30:34-38)

Later in this letter, Paul goes back to this example of the Gospel as bringing both death and life:

2 Cor 4:
1Therefore, having this ministry by the mercy of God, we do not lose heart. 2But we have renounced disgraceful, underhanded ways. We refuse to practice cunning or to tamper with God’s word, but by the open statement of the truth we would commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience in the sight of God. 3And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled only to those who are perishing. 4In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. 5For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. 6For God, who said, "Let light shine out of darkness," has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

The peddlers of God's word, utilize under-handed, cunning, and disgraceful methods, and tamper with, i.e. manipulate, the scriptures. They bring the message of “easy believism”, e.g. say the prayer and you are saved. Here Paul is using the metaphor of the "veil" (which refers to the veil Moses had to wear to shield the people from the "temporary" glory).

2Cor 3:
12 Since we have such a hope, we are very bold, 13 not like Moses, who would put a veil over his face so that the Israelites might not gaze at the outcome of what was being brought to an end. 14 But their minds were hardened. For to this day, when they read the old covenant, that same veil remains unlifted, because only through Christ is it taken away. 15 Yes, to this day whenever Moses is read a veil lies over their hearts. 16 But when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed.

Only Christ removes the veil which darkens men’s hearts. We see that just as the aroma of the Gospel is the stench of death to some, so it is also veiled to them, i.e. those who are dying. Their minds are blinded. The term “god of this world” is more accurately translated “god of this age” This is not necessarily a reference to Satan. Satan has never sent anyone to damnation.
John 3:16-21 makes it clear;

John 3:
16 "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. 19 And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. 20 For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. 21 But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God."

It is man’s refusal to believe which condemns him. This unbelief stems from the fact that men love darkness more than the light, as they do not wish to have their sinful deeds exposed. This brings a clarity to John’s words in his first letter:

1John 1:
5 This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. 6 If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. 7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. 8 If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

All men sin, even the saints. The difference is the saints, who walk in the light, do not run from having their deeds exposed. Only they confess and repent. Only their sins are forgiven. Those who are born again, that is, those who turn to Christ, are those to whom the veil has been lifted. It is evident that the veil is not lifted for those who are dying, so the Gospel is not “relevant” to all men. If it indeed it is, then all men would believe as the Lord would have lifted the veil from before them. It is only relevant to those whose names were written in the Lamb’s Book of Life from before the foundation of the world. i.e. the regenerate, the living.

Matthew 22:
32b ................................ He is not God of the dead, but of the living."

Soli Deo Gloria!

Power In The Blood

Heb 12:
22 But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering,
23 and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect,
24 and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.

Gen 4:
9 Then the LORD said to Cain, "Where is Abel your brother?" He said, "I do not know; am I my brother's keeper?"
10 And the LORD said, "What have you done? The voice of your brother's blood is crying to me from the ground.
11 And now you are cursed from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother's blood from your hand.

Rev 6:
9 When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the witness they had borne.
10 They cried out with a loud voice, "O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you will judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?"
11 Then they were each given a white robe and told to rest a little longer, until the number of their fellow servants and their brothers should be complete, who were to be killed as they themselves had been.

Psalm 116:
15 Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints.

Lev 17:
11 For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it for you on the altar to make atonement for your souls, for it is the blood that makes atonement by the life.

All life and death are in the hands of a sovereign God; the death of His saints especially so. Only the spilt blood of mankind cries out from the earth. Abel's blood cried out to God for justice. The blood of all who die for Christ and His Gospel will be avenged. Remarkably God requires patience from these that have died in His service, as the “promise” is there are more yet to die before He comes to avenge them all.Jesus' blood "speaks" a better word, as He was the Lamb without blemish; completely sinless, and innocent, i.e. guilt-free. All who are in Him are declared not guilty. Therefore His blood, shed for all who are His, speaks for justice on their behalf.
The blood of Christ speaks of the new covenant, the fulfillment of Lev 17:11. He is the last Adam, last lamb to be sacrificed, and the last high priest to perform the sacrifice.

Luke 22:
20 And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying, "This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.

Heb 9:
19 For when every commandment of the law had been declared by Moses to all the people, he took the blood of calves and goats, with water and scarlet wool and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book itself and all the people,
20 saying, "This is the blood of the covenant that God commanded for you."
21 And in the same way he sprinkled with the blood both the tent and all the vessels used in worship.
22 Indeed, under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.
23 Thus it was necessary for the copies of the heavenly things to be purified with these rites, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these.
24 For Christ has entered, not into holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true things, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf.
25 Nor was it to offer himself repeatedly, as the high priest enters the holy places every year with blood not his own,
26 for then he would have had to suffer repeatedly since the foundation of the world. But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.

Heb 10:
11 And every priest stands daily at his service, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins.
12 But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God,
13 waiting from that time until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet.
14 For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.
15 And the Holy Spirit also bears witness to us; for after saying,
16 "This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my laws on their hearts, and write them on their minds,"
17 then he adds, "I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more."
18 Where there is forgiveness of these, there is no longer any offering for sin.
19 Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus,
20 by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh,
21 and since we have a great priest over the house of God,
22 let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.

The issue of the shedding of blood is of high importance. So much so that God judges all who shed and profane it.

Luke 22:
21 But behold, the hand of him who betrays me is with me on the table.
22 For the Son of Man goes as it has been determined, but woe to that man by whom he is betrayed!"

Jesus was predestined to come and die. (Acts 4:26-28;John 10:17-18). However God’ is a God of justice, and His justice is a pure justice. Judas was predestined to betray Christ, but God still must exact the penalty for the betrayal of innocent blood. (Acts 1:16-20)
The 30 pieces of silver, which Judas received as payment for his part in the “conspiracy”, was called “blood money”. (Matthew 27:3-10)

We also have this:

Matthew 27:
21 The governor again said to them, "Which of the two do you want me to release for you?" And they said, "Barabbas."
22 Pilate said to them, "Then what shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ?" They all said, "Let him be crucified!"
23 And he said, "Why, what evil has he done?" But they shouted all the more, "Let him be crucified!"
24 So when Pilate saw that he was gaining nothing, but rather that a riot was beginning, he took water and washed his hands before the crowd, saying, "I am innocent of this man's blood; see to it yourselves."
25 And all the people answered, "His blood be on us and on our children!"
26 Then he released for them Barabbas, and having scourged Jesus, delivered him to be crucified.


Pilate understood the gravity of the shedding of innocent blood. However his hand washing ritual did not exonerate him in this. The jews, on the other hand, were not concerned with such” trivialities”. They asked for it.

Finally we have this warning to the saints:

Heb 10:
26 For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, (see verse 18)
27 but a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries.
28 Anyone who has set aside the law of Moses dies without mercy on the evidence of two or three witnesses.
29 How much worse punishment, do you think, will be deserved by the one who has spurned the Son of God, and has profaned the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has outraged the Spirit of grace?
30 For we know him who said, "Vengeance is mine; I will repay." And again, "The Lord will judge his people."
31 It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

There are no exemptions from judgment, for those who spill, betray and profane the blood of Christ. Incredibly this blood is the very thing that washes us clean from iniquity, even the iniquities of spilling, betraying, and profaning that very blood.

1John 1:
7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. 8 If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

There is nothing beyond the body and blood of Christ in terms of our salvation. All who are His, all whom He died for, appeal for mercy only through His sacrifice, which is the last sacrifice ever to be required.

Only the elect cry out to the Lord for justice on their behalf. Only they cry out for His return. There is power in the blood indeed!



LET THE ELECT CRY OUT

FROM EVERY NATION TRIBE AND TONGUE
OUT OF THE TRIBULATION, THEY WILL COME
ROBES WASHED WHITE IN THE BLOOD OF THE LAMB
BEFORE THE THRONE OF GOD THEY STAND
SERVING NIGHT AND DAY IN THE TEMPLE
IN THE SHELTER OF HIS PRESENCE
THEY WILL HUNGER AND THIRST NO MORE
AND HE WILL WIPE EVERY TEAR FROM THEIR EYES

OUT OF THE DEPTHS
WE CRY OUT TO YOU
HEAR OUR VOICE, HEAR OUR PRAYER
LET YOUR EARS HEAR THE SOUND OF OUR PLEAS
FOR MERCY AND REDEMPTION
MY SOUL WAITS ON THE LORD
IT IS IN HIM I HAVE HOPE
MORE THAN THE WATCHMEN WAIT FOR THE MORN
MY SOUL WAITS ON THE LORD

LET THE ELECT CRY OUT
NIGHT AND DAY FOR JUSTICE
LET THE ELECT CRY OUT
LORD DO NOT DELAY


HOW LONG LORD
WILL YOU WAIT TO AVENGE US
WHEN HE COMES
WE PRAY THAT HE WILL FIND FAITH

AMEN EVEN SO COME LORD JESUS
AND DO NOT DELAY

WORDS AND MUSIC BY CHRIS PAJAK
COPYRIGHT 2004 ROCK WITH WINGS/LATREUO MUSIC

Luke 18: 7 And will not God give justice to his elect, who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long over them?
Rev 22: 20 He who testifies to these things says, "Surely I am coming soon." Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!


Solus Christus
Soli Deo Gloria

(To hear the song Let The Elect Cry Out go to: http://www.myspace.com/rockwithwingsworship)

The Unity of the Body: Unity In Word And Truth

"IN ESSENTIALS UNITY, IN NON-ESSENTIALS LIBERTY, IN ALL THINGS CHARITY”

Here is a slogan which seems to have been hanging around the church for more than a few centuries. It has been attributed to various and prominent figures in church history from Augustine to Wesley, and is even found in the first papal encyclical of John XXXIII. Recent scholarship attributes it to Rupertus Meldinius, a relatively unknown 16th century Lutheran theologian.

Regardless of who actually coined this phrase, the fact remains that at it's premise, it is pure poppycock. In order for it to work, there must be at least two opposing points of view which would seem to pretty much ruin any prospects of unity. The main questions being; what things are essential and/or non-essential in any given debate? Who decides what is or is not essential?

In order for the church to discern what is or is not essential, there must be unity in the interpretation of scripture. This alone blows the "unity" of the visible church out of the water, as the visible church goes to great length to show that there is no unified interpretation of the scripture. This "unity" is a self defeating proposition.

The visible church seeks to portray unity in the same way the world does, i.e. agree to disagree., celebrate diversity, etc. The reality is that neither of these noble and lofty concepts can be found in scripture. They are not even hinted at. As a matter of fact, where do we find support for the argument that there are ANY doctrines and/or teachings found in scripture which are non-essential?

2Timothy 3: 16 All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,

Gal 3: 27 For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.
28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
29 And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's offspring, heirs according to promise.

Col 3: 10 and (you) have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator.
11 Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free; but Christ is all, and in all.

We are told to have the mind of Christ, to be of one mind, to be of the same mind. How is that accomplished? First of all we are united with Christ, and with each other through Him. This is the work of the Father, through the Son, by the Holy Spirit. We are incapable of creating such a unity.

Eph 2: 18 For through him we both (jew and gentile) have access in one Spirit to the Father.

1 Cor 12:
13For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body— Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit.

1Cor 6: 17 But he who is joined to the Lord becomes one spirit with him.

From all of the scripture cited above, it should be apparent that the Body of Christ is the place where diversity no longer exists. It is HIS body, therefore the unity that is shown is manifested only in the person of Jesus Christ. When looked upon, the entirety of Christ is seen, not His Lutheran hands and Baptist legs demonstrating "unity in diversity", When we attempt to " do" unity and tout our brotherhood, we are glorifying man and not God.

The story of Babel in Genesis 11, is the story of a "unified" human race desiring to exalt itself by making a name for itself. Men had one language and one purpose. Diversity was the consequence of God's judgment, which He accomplished by confusing of their common language into many tongues. This confusion of language has forever thwarted man's efforts to come together peaceably, as true peace is found only in the Prince of Peace.The attempts by men today to unite in that confusion, and "celebrate their differences" is a deliberate spitting in the face of God. In the world we have the United Nations. In the church we have ecumenism, and slogans like the one which is quoted at the beginning of this post.

We see that all true unity comes from God and is found only in His Son. This unity is a reconciling in Christ of creator to creation, and of creation to creation. We become sons of God, and brothers to one another. This found only in the new creation.

2Cor5:
16From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer. 17Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. 18All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; 19that is, in Christ, God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. 20Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.

Romans8: 21 that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God.

The Body of Christ grows up, and matures in, the unity into which it has been placed:

Eph 4:
1I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, 2with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, 3eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 4There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call— 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism,
6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. 7But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ’s gift. 8Therefore it says, "When he ascended on high he led a host of captives, and he gave gifts to men."
9( In saying, "He ascended," what does it mean but that he had also descended into the lower regions, the earth? 10He who descended is the one who also ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things.) 11And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, 12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, 13until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, 14so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. 15Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, 16 from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.

There is only one Body, one Spirit, one hope ,one Lord, one faith one baptism, one God and one Father of all, who is over and through all. This is in perfect agreement with the scriptures which were brought out at the beginning of this post, that is, we are baptized into His Body by one Spirit, through whom we also have access to the one Father, thus joining us in and to Christ, as one Spirit.

The apostles, prophets, evangelists, shepherds and teachers are members of the Body, empowered in their respective calling to ministry and given as gifts to the Body to build it up to a full maturing into the one man. The mature body is seen in the manifestation of the one man, Jesus Christ. The believer's maturity is a corporate maturity which exists in the individual, Jesus.

In this corporate maturing the individual saints also mature with this result:

14so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes.

How is this put into practice? By SPEAKING THE TRUTH in love. Jesus is the Truth and His Word is Truth. Therefore we speak Christ, teach His word and doctrine, exhort, correct, rebuke. Is this not what Paul said to Timothy about ALL scripture? When this is happening, then the Body grows into the head and all the joints and parts began working properly and in love.

The current ecumenical move stresses speaking in love at the cost of speaking the Truth. How we need the five-fold ministries today especially the prophets. The church is sorely lacking those who will take the sword of the Spirit and wield it. I am not referring to what is commonly called prophecy by most of christianity, which is more akin to an ESP/mindreader Vegas act.

If we cannot be unified in the understanding of God's Word, then none of these "five-fold" gifts can function as they should, and the Body would never grow together.

John 5: 39 You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me,
40 yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life.

John1: 1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
2 He was in the beginning with God.
3 All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.
4 In him was life, and the life was the light of men.
5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us................................

Jesus is the living Word made flesh, revealed in the living spoken/written Word.

1Timothy 6:
3 If anyone teaches a different doctrine and does not agree with the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ and the teaching that accords with godliness,
4 he is puffed up with conceit and understands nothing. He has an unhealthy craving for controversy and for quarrels about words, which produce envy, dissension, slander, evil suspicions,
5 and constant friction among people who are depraved in mind and deprived of the truth, imagining that godliness is a means of gain.

This speaks even louder today. Sadly the ones accused of craving controversy are the ones desiring to see that the Truth is preached and that the strongholds of the post-modern church be torn down. It is the bringing in of false teaching which creates friction. It is those who refuse to read scripture literally who quarrel about words, and cultural/historical context, etc.

1Peter 3: 8 Finally, all of you, have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble mind.

Also sad to say that this is interpreted agree to disagree. There cannot be a unity of mind unless all agree on doctrinal Truth. The apostles, even the Lord, spoke dogmatically and literally. Therefore our unity is found in agreement with them.

1Cor 1:
9 God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
10 I appeal to you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment.

Again there is no "agree to disagree" found here. Paul is asking for unity in all things. Jude puts it another way:

Jude 1:
1Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ and brother of James,
To those who are called, beloved in God the Father and kept for Jesus Christ:
2May mercy, peace, and love be multiplied to you.
3Beloved, although I was very eager to write to you about our common salvation, I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints. 4For certain people have crept in unnoticed who long ago were designated for this condemnation, ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into sensuality and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.

The phrase to "contend for" in the Greek is; epagōnizomai.

You might notice the word from which we get "agony" set right in the middle of the word. We are to struggle,that is agonize for the faith. We contend for the Truth in unity. This hardly portrays the watered-down christianity that is being presented today. The church of the first 3 centuries should be insulted. They struggled and died foir the faith. We hardly whimper whenever the latest abomination rolls in.

Acts 13:
13Now Paul and his companions set sail from Paphos and came to Perga in Pamphylia. And John left them and returned to Jerusalem, 14but they went on from Perga and came to Antioch in Pisidia. And on the Sabbath day they went into the synagogue and sat down.


Acts 15:
36And after some days Paul said to Barnabas, "Let us return and visit the brothers in every city where we proclaimed the word of the Lord, and see how they are." 37Now Barnabas wanted to take with them John called Mark. 38But Paul thought best not to take with them one who had withdrawn from them in Pamphylia and had not gone with them to the work. 39And there arose a sharp disagreement, so that they separated from each other. Barnabas took Mark with him and sailed away to Cyprus, 40but Paul chose Silas and departed, having been commended by the brothers to the grace of the Lord. 41And he went through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches.

This type of contention would never be "tolerated" in today's visible church. The work of the Kingdom did not suffer loss because of this division. The sovereign, omnipotent,and omniscient God worked His will through it. The church thrived.

We must have unity in orthodoxy. The scriptures are more than a history book,and more than a story book. They transcend time and culture. They come from God Himself, and were not meant to be limited by a particular place and cultural setting. Coversely they do not have a different meaning something different in each ensuing era. They are written by divine fiat (not an arbitraray fiat), and are understood through divine interpretation.

Sola Scriptura

One Bad Apple Can Spoil The Bunch

Matthew 7:
13 "Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many.
14 For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.
15 "Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. 16You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thorn bushes, or figs from thistles? 17So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. 18A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20Thus you will recognize them by their fruits.
21 "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 On that day many will say to me, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?' 23 And then will I declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.'
Build Your House on the Rock 24 "Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. 26And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. 27And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it."


The above passage is without a doubt one of the most abused and misrepresented in all of Scripture. So let us without further ado, look at this in a verse by verse manner.

Verses 13 and 14 speak of two gates. The gate that opens to destruction is wide and easy to enter, and many enter into destruction through it.
The gate that opens into Life is narrow and the way through is hard. In addition Jesus tells us that it is difficult to even find this gate. Only those who know the voice of the Shepherd, i.e. those who are already His, hear His voice and enter in. (no one seeks for God, Romans 3:10-18)
This leads us to the obvious conclusion that the first gate, which leads to destruction, is also extremely easy to find since many enter it. Those who do are not "God-seekers".
Jesus who is the Truth, and therefore telling the Truth, is the Gate, the Way and the Life.
John 10:7 and John 14:6
This is the foundation set for what He says next.

In verses 15-20, the Lord speaks of false prophets and the distinctions which make them false prophets:

They are "ravenous" wolves which come disguised as sheep.

Acts 20:
29 I know that after my departure fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock;
30 and from among your own selves will arise men speaking twisted things, to draw away the disciples after them.

They are ravenous as they desire to draw away the disciples after them.
They are the ones who do not enter by the gate. They do not know the voice of the Shepherd, and He does not know them. John 10:14

They "jump the fence" to steal away the flock. Some of these seem to be part of the flock, but in reality are not. They are wolves that have have already infiltrated the flock, and soon leave after creating havoc.
Their goal being to draw as many of the flock away unto themselves as possible.

1John 2:
19 They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out, that it might become plain that they all are not of us.

It must be plain that they are not of us. Jesus said they will be recognized by their fruits. They will be recognized today, not at the end when the Lord returns. In fact He tells them in verse 23 "I never recognized you", which will occur upon His actual return.

Thus the real meaning of this statement in 1John 4:4;

"for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world."

is made clear.

This verse, when read in its' immediate context, is speaking of those, like us who have the Spirit of Christ and those who have gone into the world, who are of the spirit of anti-christ. They deny Jesus has come in the flesh. How? By constantly recreating Him into our image and likeness, the sin of the golden calf. The incarnation has been accomplished, we do not preach the re-incarnation, which is essentially being preached in the doctrines of open theism, among other false teachings.

As for their fruits, grapes are not gathered from a thorn bush, nor figs from thistles. What the Lord is saying literally is, they truly are thorn bushes and thistles. They do not produce grapes nor figs. All fruit bearing vegetation produces fruit fit for consumption, or fruit unfit for consumption. The unfit fruit can even be poisonous. Sometimes distinguishing between the good and the bad is extremely difficult.
Men have learned to recognize good fruit from the bad in the natural. So those that are truly His, will learn to recognize good from bad.

Hebrews 5:
14 But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.

The fruits of the false prophets, the wolves, the thorn bushes, are known by saints.
They are unhealthy, diseased trees. A diseased tree cannot bear good fruit and must be cut down and burned.

Matthew 3:
10 Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees. Every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.

Matthew 15:
13 He answered, "Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be rooted up.

Both Jesus and John the Baptist were speaking to, and about, the pharisees. Contrary to popular teaching, the sin of the pharisees was not "legalism", (in fact the common accusation that is thrown out today toward anyone who adheres to sola scriptura, is that they are phariseees and therefore "legalistic"). The fact is the pharisees did not adhgere to what we call sola scriptura.
They denied Jesus was God come in the flesh. That is, they did not believe what the Word of God spoke. John 5:37-47
This is the common error of today's "church" They do not like the way God presents Himself in His Word, therefore they preach a different gospel, and a different Jesus, who is the Word in the flesh. So who are the actual pharisees today? Those who know neither the Scriptures nor the power of the Author.

Gal 1:
6 I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel--
7 not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ.
8 But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed.
9 As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed.

2Cor 11:
3 But I am afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your thoughts will be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ.
4 For if someone comes and proclaims another Jesus than the one we proclaimed, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received, or if you accept a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it readily enough.
5 Indeed, I consider that I am not in the least inferior to these super-apostles.

The super apostles are the ravenous wolves and the producers of bad fruit. Who are the super apostles? Turn on christian TV or enter a christian bookstore. The gate is wide, readily found, and they are leading men through it.

Verses 21-23 present an astounding conclusion. Even though the fruit of bad tree is recognized by the saints, the bad trees do not realize that they are ...... "bad trees".
They will say to the Lord in that Day, didn't we prophesy, heal, teach, etc etc in your name?
Jesus will say, "I never knew you", i.e. I give you no public recognition.
Deception is an easy pathway indeed.

Matthew 24:
4 And Jesus answered them, "See that no one leads you astray.
5 For many will come in my (Jesus') name, saying, 'I (Jesus) am the Christ,' and they will lead many astray.

Only those who do the Father's will will enter in. Since this is so, then only those who are truly in Christ, who is the narrow gate, and who does only the will of His Father, enter the Kingdom of heaven. The narrow way is the will of the Father. It is not easy to find, as it is only found through Christ. It must be revealed.

Luke 10:
21 In that same hour he rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said, "I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will.

John 6:
37 All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out.
38 For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me.
39 And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day.
40 For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day."

44 No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day.
45 It is written in the Prophets, 'And they will all be taught by God.' Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me--

So the Lord sends them away and calls them workers of lawlessness or iniquity.
In the Greek the word is:

ἀνομία (anomia)

It means a transgression, a violation of the law, an illegality. We must remember that what Jesus is speaking in these last few words of his "sermon on the mount" tie in with what He spoke from the start of this discourse. Matthew 5-6-7
The purveyors of bad fruit are "lawbreakers"


Matthew 5:
17 "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.
18 For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished.
19 Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
20 For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

Licentiousness is not grace. Licentiousness is one of the bad fruit.

The conclusion of all that Jesus spoke is this;
All who hear His words and do them are building on solid rock, and their building will stand no matter what storms come.

Those who hear His words, and do not do them, are building on sand and their building
will suffer complete and utter destruction, i.e. "away from me, I never knew you". Those words are hanging over the wide gate.
Those who do the words of Jesus, do the will of the Father, and have entered in through the narrow gate.


Matthew 12:
50 For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother."

John 6:
38 For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me.

All who do the will of the Father prove that they and Jesus are born of the same father. They are family.

John 15:
1 "I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser.
2 Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit.
3 Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you.
4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me.
5 I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.
6 If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned.
7 If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.
8 By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples.

Proverbs 14:
12 There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death.


We will al be known by our fruit.
Soli Deo Gloria

Christ Crucified And The Serpent In The Wilderness

This is a combining of a previous post on this site, and some new thoughts which I believe fall right in line with the study in Hebrews 7-8-9 and 10.

John 3:
14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, 15 that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.

John 8:
23 He said to them, "You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world.24 I told you that you would die in your sins, for unless you believe that I am he you will die in your sins."25 So they said to him, "Who are you?" Jesus said to them, "Just what I have been telling you from the beginning.26 I have much to say about you and much to judge, but he who sent me is true, and I declare to the world what I have heard from him."27 They did not understand that he had been speaking to them about the Father.28 So Jesus said to them, "When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am he, and that I do nothing on my own authority, but speak just as the Father taught me.29 And he who sent me is with me. He has not left me alone, for I always do the things that are pleasing to him."30 As he was saying these things, many believed in him.31 So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, "If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples,32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."　

John 12:
31 Now is the judgment of this world; now will the ruler of this world be cast out.32 And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself."33 He said this to show by what kind of death he was going to die.34 So the crowd answered him, "We have heard from the Law that the Christ remains forever. How can you say that the Son of Man must be lifted up? Who is this Son of Man?"35 So Jesus said to them, "The light is among you for a little while longer. Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you. The one who walks in the darkness does not know where he is going.36 While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become sons of light." When Jesus had said these things, he departed and hid himself from them.

Numbers 21:
4 From Mount Hor they set out by the way to the Red Sea, to go around the land of Edom. And the people became impatient on the way.5 And the people spoke against God and against Moses, "Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and we loathe this worthless food."6 Then the LORD sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people, so that many people of Israel died.7 And the people came to Moses and said, "We have sinned, for we have spoken against the LORD and against you. Pray to the LORD, that he take away the serpents from us." So Moses prayed for the people.8 And the LORD said to Moses, "Make a fiery serpent and set it on a pole, and everyone who is bitten, when he sees it, shall live."9 So Moses made a bronze serpent and set it on a pole. And if a serpent bit anyone, he would look at the bronze serpent and live.

Romans7: 9 9 I was once alive apart from the law, but when the commandment came, sin came alive and I died.10 The very commandment that promised life proved to be death to me.11 For sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, deceived me and through it killed me.12 So the law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good.13 Did that which is good, then, bring death to me? By no means! It was sin, producing death in me through what is good, in order that sin might be shown to be sin, and through the commandment might become sinful beyond measure.

Romans 6:
23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

2Kings 18:
1 In the third year of Hoshea son of Elah, king of Israel, Hezekiah the son of Ahaz, king of Judah, began to reign.2 He was twenty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Abi the daughter of Zechariah.3 And he did what was right in the eyes of the LORD, according to all that David his father had done.4 He removed the high places and broke the pillars and cut down the Asherah. And he broke in pieces the bronze serpent that Moses had made, for until those days the people of Israel had made offerings to it (it was called Nehushtan).5 He trusted in the LORD, the God of Israel, so that there was none like him among all the kings of Judah after him, nor among those who were before him.6 For he held fast to the LORD. He did not depart from following him, but kept the commandments that the LORD commanded Moses.

2Cor 5:
14 For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died;15 and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised.16 From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer.17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.18 All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation;19 that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.


Repentance: Looking Upon/To Him

Heb 12:
1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses,
let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely,
and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,
2 looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

There are several aspects to the death of Jesus that must be looked at:

He must be lifted up.

Jesus said this. John 12:33 says that He was indicating the manner of death that He would suffer, i.e. crucifixion.
Through this "lifting up" three things are accomplished:

HE will draw all people to himself.

This drawing is for the purpose of all men to see the crucified Messiah, and to accept or reject, both Him and His atoning work.

He came to His own, and by His own was not received.

The Jews to whom He was speaking to in John 8, would know that He is the one who came from the Father, and speaks the words of the Father. This also is done so that the house of Israel can accept or reject their Messiah.
However a remnant, (Romans 9-10-11) will come to belief.

Zechariah 12:
10 "And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and pleas for mercy, so that, when they look on me, on him whom they have pierced, they shall mourn for him, as one mourns for an only child, and weep bitterly over him, as one weeps over a firstborn.

Acts 2:
36 Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified."
37 Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, "Brothers, what shall we do?"
His being crucified is the exact same thing as Moses lifting up the bronze serpent.
This must be done so that that whoever believes in (looks upon) Him, be they Jew or gentile, will have eternal life. This third element re: the bronze serpent, is the element of salvation.


Looking Upon = Belief

Isaiah 45:
22 "Turn to (look unto) me and be saved, all the ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other.

It is amazing that in regards to the bronze serpent, the requirement to be saved from the deadly bite of the attacking serpents was to look upon the image of the serpent. In other words, they had to look at the image of the very thing that was killing them, in order to be saved.
In light of this, how deep is the meaning of the Lord's words in the above referenced verses from John's gospel? Ch 8:28

The clincher is, that centuries later the bronze serpent was still in possession of the nation of Israel, and King Hezekiah had to destroy it along with the Asherah, the high places and pillars etc, as even the serpent's image had become an idol to which the people brought offerings.
What does this say about the Roman Catholic crucifix, and the daily ritual of "re-sacrificing" the Lord? I am using this as the most extreme example, but it is evident this idolatry goes on today through out the “visible church”, and in the first century church, as Paul spoke in reference to the issue.

2 Cor 5:16 tells us that we are not to regard ourselves , our brothers, and especially the Lord Himself, according to the flesh. The idolatry which was focused upon the bronze serpent, Nehushtan, is the practice of “regarding Christ according to the flesh”. His death is once for all time.
“It is accomplished”, were among His final words. We do not offer the Lord anew, as He is now resurrected, ascended, and seated in heavenly places. There will be more to say about the “regarding according to the flesh”.


Assurance And The Idolatry of Nehushtan

Heb 6:
4 For it is impossible, in the case of those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, and have shared in the Holy Spirit,
5 and have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the age to come,
6 and then have fallen away, to restore them again to repentance, since they are crucifying once again the Son of God to their own harm and holding him up to contempt.

Heb 10:
10 And by that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
11 And every priest stands daily at his service, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins.
12 But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God,
13 waiting from that time until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet.
14 For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.
15 And the Holy Spirit also bears witness to us; for after saying,
16 "This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my laws on their hearts, and write them on their minds,"
17 then he adds, "I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more."
18 Where there is forgiveness of these, there is no longer any offering for sin.

The worship of the bronze serpent, is a denial of the finished, and atoning work of the Lord.
He is the crucified Christ to the unbelieving world.
To us who believe, He is Christ, King, High Priest, and Intercessor, and is seated at the Father’s right hand and is Head over His body, the church. Acts 2:36; Rev 19:16; Eph 1:16-23
He was dead and now He lives forever.

Heb 7:
25 Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.

Paul gives us the revelation of the "mystery" of His death on the cross.The simple fact is that He died for all, so all have died in Him. (This does not say that all receive salvation)
This is also a literal statement.
All mankind has been injected with the venom. Only those who come to belief are healed from the effect of the bite.
We have seen that Paul in Romans 6, tells us that the wages of sin is death.
However, those who believe, i.e. have looked upon the Nehushtan/Christ-crucified, and have received eternal life. Now the life they live, they live unto God and not to themselves. They no longer have to “look upon” the crucified Christ.

Gal 2:
20 I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

2 Cor5:
16 From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer.

So Hebrews 6: 4-6 and Hebrews 10: 10-18 are to be understood in this context;
A truly regenerate, i.e. born again saint, cannot lose his salvation. I do not “plead the blood”, if indeed, I am cleansed by the blood.

1John 1:
5 This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.
6 If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.
7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.
8 If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
10 If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.

1John 2:
1 My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.
2 He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.

The terms “pleading the blood”, and “covered by the blood” are not found in the scripture. We are cleansed by the blood. The issue is walking in the light, as the light is God.
1 John was written to expose the spirit of anti-christ,which denies God in Christ at the crucifixion. They effectively stripped His death of any of its’ power, as these anti-christ gnostics came up with bizarre stories that Jesus’ divinity left Him at the cross, Jesus did not have a literal body of flesh etc ,etc.
Virtually all the content of John’s letter is directed at proving those who are of Christ and those who are anti-christ, and how the differences between the two manifest in practice.
So when John writes of those who walk in the light versus those in darkness, he is not saying the children of the light might walk in darkness upon occasion. He is saying that those who walk in darkness cannot claim fellowship with God at all. They are liars and are anti-christ.

John 3:
18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.
19 And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil.
20 For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed.
21 But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God."

Those who do walk in the light, have fellowship with Him, and the blood of Christ has cleanses them from all sin. It is possible for those in the light to sin. However they are walking in the light of forgiveness.
All that needs be done, is for them to confess their sin. Only those who are born again will confess their sins. Only they walk in the light.
Walking in darkness is never something the believer does. Those who walk in darkness are unregenerate!

1John 2:
19 They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out, that it might become plain that they all are not of us.

Confession is an act of obedience, and is the fruit of repentance. Repentance is a” looking unto” a “turning away” from the sin that so easily besets us, and looking upon the crucified Christ.
So for those who have already set their eyes upon Him, repentance is something that is lived out daily. When they do sin, confession is the acknowledgment that the atoning work of Christ has been viewed and received. Thus repentance is one of the works that are shown to be “carried out in God”.

Heb 12:
2 looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

He endured, past tense.
So we look unto Jesus who is seated at God’s right hand.
I am not looking at the Nehushtan, and bringing my offerings to it.
I am looking at the exalted and enthroned high priest of God.
The entrance into the light is through the cross.
Once there, we do not go back to the “dark side” of Calvary.

This leads us back to Paul’s statement that we no longer regard Christ according to the flesh. John’s battle was against those who preached that Jesus did not come in the flesh. On the surface that would look as if Paul was teaching error. However. I believe that the previous scripture, and accompanying study, show us that Paul is speaking of flesh in terms of the body of sin that was put to death on the cross. Christ, the firstfruits from the dead, now lives in a glorified and incorruptible body, as all who believe will one day do. Regarding Christ according to the body of sin,i.e. flesh, is Nehushtan.
Adoring a crucifix, the Passion, even holiness teachings, ascetism, monasticism etc. are idolatry.
They make an idol out of that which saves; “they are crucifying once again the Son of God to their own harm and holding him up to contempt.”

Even the act of confession is a post - crucifixion work. I confess my sins as
I have already entered into His forgiveness.

The writer of Hebrews is telling us once you have seen and believed,
there is no going back. One cannot be restored again to repentance because
one has been restored once for all. The sacrifice has been given once for all.
The worship of Nehushtan is not allowed.
So they become like a field of weeds and thistles whose end is to be burned.
This is not the lake of fire, but it is a fiery judgment. The fire saves the field and
makes it useful for planting again.
They are those who are His branches, but have not been abiding.
Hebrews 6:8; John 15:6

As I had just stated, we cannot go back to the dark/Egyptian side of the cross.
Every attempt to do so by Israel ended up in death. Jeremiah 42:13-17


Heb 10:
14 For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.


26 For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins,
27 but a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries.


31 It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.


Heb 12:
28 Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe,
29 for our God is a consuming fire.


The Working Of The Cure

Now the people of Israel admitted that they had sinned against the Lord, once they had been bitten and began to die. The fiery serpents were sent by God to afflict Israel, and their bite was fatal. These serpents represent sin and its’ due recompense, i.e. death.
Romans 7 shows that the issue is not just the forgiveness of sins, past, present, and future; it is the sin nature, sin itself which is the root. Therefore 2 Cor 5:21 gives us this most astounding revelation; God made the One who knew no sin, to be sin.
So we now look upon the image of the very thing that is killing us, and we are saved. Sin itself, and its death-hold over us, is vanquished, because of His dying, and our participation in that dying.
The crucified Jesus must be lifted up, in order that the elect may enter the reconciliation of Creator to creation.
All who were bitten in the wilderness should have died, but those who looked upon the serpent of bronze were those that were dead men, and yet they lived.

Just for a moment, let’s look at the serpent in the garden

Genesis 2: 7 tells us that God made man, Adam, from the dust of the ground.
The narrative continues with God creating all living creatures and Adam naming them. We then have the Lord putting Adam to sleep and removing one of his ribs, which was then formed into woman, Eve, Adam’s wife.
Genesis 3 begins with the serpent, whom God had created, and Adam had named, deceiving Eve through the injection of this toxic venom:

“has God indeed said?”

The outcome is a well known one. Adam also falls into the deception, and sin and death have now entered the world.
God’s judgment is swift. It is also a prophetic judgment.

Gen 3:
14 The LORD God said to the serpent, "Because you have done this, cursed are you above all livestock and above all beasts of the field; on your belly you shall go, and dust you shall eat all the days of your life.
15 I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel."

The serpent would eat dust all his days. Man was formed from dust, and did not become a living soul until God breathed into him.
The serpents in the wilderness were functioning under the curse and judgment decreed by God. Their goal is to eat dust, i.e. through their bite bring death.
All who looked upon the bronze serpent lived, though they were bitten. Christ came in the likeness of sinful flesh so that when he was “lifted up”, that is, was crucified, He like the bronze serpent would be the physical embodiment of the very thing that is killing mankind. By coming in the likeness of sinful flesh, and going to the cross, He has put to death sin in the flesh, so that all who look upon Him are born again, through the receiving of God’s breath, eternal life. Jesus’ death was the “bruising of His heel”
His resurrection was the crushing of the serpent’s head.

John 11:
25 Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live,
26 and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?"

We are no longer men of dust. The men of dust are food for the serpent. The men of dust are dead men. They have not been given the life-breath of God, which is His Holy Spirit.

1Cor 15:
47 The first man was from the earth, a man of dust; the second man is from heaven.
48 As was the man of dust, so also are those who are of the dust, and as is the man of heaven, so also are those who are of heaven.
49 Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the man of heaven.

One more thought concerning this.
The venom was injected through Eve who was taken from Adam’s side. So the attack was directed at the very heart of the man.
In John’s account of the crucifixion, we have this incident:

John 19:
34 But one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and at once there came out blood and water.
35 He who saw it has borne witness--his testimony is true, and he knows that he is telling the truth--that you also may believe.

What is usually the first thing that one does, when someone is snake-bit?
The affected area is lanced open, and the venom is withdrawn. The water and the blood are the cleansing evidence that the venom has been purged from the body.
This is why even in Moses’ day all who looked upon the bronze serpent lived. Christ is literally present through out all the scripture.

1John 5:
5 Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?
6 This is he who came by water and blood--Jesus Christ; not by the water only but by the water and the blood. And the Spirit is the one who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth.
7 For there are three that testify:
8 the Spirit and the water and the blood; and these three agree.

All who believe have eternal life.
We are immune to the “venom of the lie”. Even though we are currently residing in bodies of dust, we will one day be given the body from heaven.
We are no longer prey for the serpent. We will not die, even if bitten.

Luke 10:
19 Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you.

How Then Do We Lift Jesus Up?

1Cor 2:
1 And I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom.2 For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.

It is not by clever evangelistic methods, i.e. tricks or manipulation, or theologies. We simply preach Christ, and Him crucified.

1Cor 11:
24 and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, "This is my body which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me."25 In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me."26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes.

It is not proclaimed in images, or ceremonies. Every time we meet and partake of the Lord's table we are proclaiming His death, until He returns. Not only are we proclaiming His death, we are proclaiming our participation in that death also. We are united with Him in His death, and resurrection. Romans 6:3-7

We are His literal Body.

The bread symbolizes our participation as members of His body, and the cup symbolizes our participation in the new/renewed covenant of His blood. The bread and wine do not become the literal body and blood, as we are the literal body which is sustained by the blood/covenant.I pray that the church would come to understand that the preaching of the "once for all" sacrifice of the crucified Messiah, through the partaking of the Lord's table, is the most powerful evangelistic message ever to be presented. It is the implicit revelation of Isaiah 53.Whenever we meet, we do this remembering Him, and the last sacrifice men would ever need re: atonement and eternal life. We celebrate and proclaim His death. We do not re-create it.

1Cor 10:
9 We must not put Christ to the test, as some of them did and were destroyed by serpents
10 nor grumble, as some of them did and were destroyed by the Destroyer.
11 Now these things happened to them as an example, but they were written down for our instruction, on whom the end of the ages has come.

Do not put Christ to the test by crucifying Him again and again and holding Him up to contempt.
Christ and His atoning death and resurrection are a once for all, and once for all time work. The idolatry of Nehushtan are the new teachings infiltrating the church, which question the sufficiency of Christ and His atoning work, the sovreignty of God and the authority of His Word.
These teachings are the venom of Nehushtan;
Has God indeed said?

Lord raise up Hezekiahs who will destroy all the idols of the land that are worshipped in your house.

Soli deo Gloria!