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Why do we need salvation?

To understand why we need salvation we need to go back to the beginning when God created humans. He created Adam in His image and likeness and built Eve from his side1. Adam was given a commandment by God that he was not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. In the day in which he ate of it the punishment would be death2. Not just physical death, but also spiritual death – dying you will die. Although Eve was thoroughly deceived and transgressed the law, Adam was not deceived and chose to disobey God. The result was spiritual separation from God and now he is subject to physical death. Did God setup Adam and Eve to fail? Absolutely not. He gave them all they needed to success. Satan deceived Eve into eating the fruit from the tree; however, Adam was not deceived at all and of his own free will chose to eat, knowing he was disobeying God3.

So what does this have to do with us and why we need […]

Why do we need salvation?2023-12-14T11:16:16-08:00

An In-Depth Look at Romans 5:12-21

When examining Romans chapter 5 verses 12 through 21 it is important to understand the difference between a trespass, sin, transgression, gift, and gracious gift in order to comprehend what is being revealed. Many of our modern translations are not consistent when translating in this section of Scripture, even though in other areas some translate the words correctly. By mistranslating words, confusion is brought into a very important section of Scripture. However, since there are no textual problems that are causing confusion, we just need to simply look at the original language to clear up any confusion.

To understand the difference between a trespass and a sin we can examine the process by which a sin is produced. This process is found in James 1:14, 15 But each one is tempted (solicited to do that which lacks in character), having been lured and baited by his own lust. Then the lust having conceived, births sin, and the sin having been brought to completion births forth death. A temptation is presented to us that draws us out of our safe place and gets us to bite. Both of these terms are fishing terms. The first is used to lure the fish out, and the second is used of baiting the fish into biting the hook. In like manner, the desire lures us out of our safe place, which is a mindset that is framed on the truth not the desires from the flesh, and attempts to get us to accept it as our own. Once we accept the temptation as our own and determine to fulfill it, we have trespassed – offended God. Sin is then birthed from the trespass.

Scripture uses the same terms for how a […]

An In-Depth Look at Romans 5:12-212023-11-23T14:10:11-08:00

The Beatitudes – Thirsty and Hungry for Righteousness

The Beatitudes – Part 2

  1. Happy are the Ones Hungering and Thirsting for the Righteousness, Matthew 5:6
    1. They are characterized as hungering and thirsting
      1. They do not possess righteousness
      2. Hunger and thirst come from lack
        1. After 40 days in the wilderness, Jesus was hungry, Matthew 4:2
        2. The disciples become hungry on the Sabbath, Matthew 12:1
        3. Primarily used of the lack of food and water, Revelation 7:16;
      3. Those who came to Christ during His earthly ministry would not hunger or thirst, John 6:35; Romans 12:20
    2. A Christian already possesses a quality of the Righteousness of God in Christ, 2 Corinthians 5:21; 1 Corinthians 1:30
    3. They will be satisfied (used of eating and drinking until one is full)
  2. Happy are the Merciful, Matthew 5:7
    1. “Mercy” is relief from the affects of one’s own sin
    2. An expression of God’s mercy results in salvation, Titus 3:5
      1. God’s show of mercy upon Paul, 1 Timothy 1:13, 16
      2. God’s show of mercy upon the Gentiles, 1 Peter 2:10
      3. God has shut up all in disobedience so that He may show mercy to all, Romans 11:30 – 32
      4. Mercy is not shown to a man on the basis of his desire to receive it, Romans 9:16-18
    3. Mercy and the Christian
      1. Christians receive mercy on the basis of God’s mercy apart from works of righteousness, Titus 3:5
      2. Mercy is upon a Christian who walks by the rule of the New Creation (The Christ), Galatians 6:15, 16
      3. God showed us mercy while we were still dead in our trespasses, Ephesians 2:4, 5
        1. A trespass is within the mind
        2. Sin ultimately results from a trespass
      4. We can draw near to the Throne of Grace where we receive mercy, because Christ is our High Priest, […]
The Beatitudes – Thirsty and Hungry for Righteousness2023-12-14T11:19:44-08:00

The One Abiding in Him

1 John 3:6 Every, the one abiding, in Him does not sin. Every, the one sinning, has not seen Him with discernment nor experientially knows Him.

We do not see the change in any of our English translations with the word “sin” in this passage. ‘Sin” is used twice, once as a verb, which describes an action and once as a participle which describes a characteristic. The KJV and NAS us the same word “sin” for both forms, which actually hides the meaning from the reader. The ESV attempts to distinguish the words from the NAS and KVJ, but ends up making the same mistake. The forms of the word “sin” are very important here. A participle is a verbal noun which uses an action to describe a person or characterize them as someone who does the action stated by the verbal portion. Its focus is not on the action of the verb directly. Whereas, a verb simply looks at the action.

We have two participles that are extremely important to our understanding of this passage. First is “the one abiding”. This is one who is characterized as feeling as ease in Him (Christ). Not just simply abiding for a small period of time, off and on, but not really feeling at ease; rather, one who has settled down and feels at ease with who he or she is in Christ. In the translation above I followed the Original Greek, which makes for a bit of hard English, but also helps to bring out the truth of the passage. “Every, the one abiding” (participle), is not referring directly to the action but to the characteristic of the individual who is abiding. “every” is added in the Greek […]

The One Abiding in Him2023-12-14T11:21:00-08:00

Communicating our Needs and Desires to the Father

One of the ways we communicate with the Father is to make a request on our behalf or for the benefit of another.

To Receive What You Ask for, we are to ask according to His desirous will

And this is the confidence which we have towards Him, that if, perhaps, we ask, as a lessor to a greater, something according to His desirous will, He hears us. And if, perhaps, we intuitively know that He hears us, that which perhaps we asked for ourselves we intuitively know that we will have the thing asked for which we ask from Him, 1 John 5:14 – 16

We are to ask in faith

Taking God at His word. He states that if we ask according to His desirous will we will have what we have requested.

When asking for wisdom Scripture states  …but let him ask in faith, without doubting, for the doubting one yields as a wave of the sea driven by the wind and tossed, James 1:6

 God is able to provide beyond what we could even consider possible. God spoke the universe into existence, what could you possibly ask that is beyond His natural ability to perform?

Now to the one having the natural ability to do exceedingly above all things which we ask for ourselves or think, according to the natural ability, the one working in us, Ephesians 3:20

Notice: No response from God is not an answer to your request, it means He did not hear you.

Why Do we Ask but not Receive?

We ask so that we can freely spend it according to our own pleasures

You ask and you do not receive, because you ask incorrectly, in order that you […]

Communicating our Needs and Desires to the Father2023-12-14T11:21:48-08:00
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