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Cleansing From Sin

After confessing our sin, God’s response is to forgive us of that sin and begin to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. This cleansing begins when we start to walk in the light and are practicing the truth (the doctrine by which we have victory over sin – Know, Romans 6:6; Reckon, Romans 6:11, Yield Romans 6:13).

But if, perhaps, we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son keeps on cleansing us from every sin – 1 John 1:7.

In God there is no darkness (1 John 1:5), so when we are walking in the light, as He is in the light, we will not manifest any aspect of our sin nature, for it is darkness; rather, we will express the new nature we have in Christ. Therefore, because we will be doing the things related to the light, we will naturally separate and cleanse ourselves from the things of darkness (2 Corinthians 7:1).

Unrighteousness not only includes sin, but also the determination within the mind that works out to sin (All sin has a quality of unrighteousness – 1 John 5:17). That unrighteous determination happens because we are not doing the truth; rather, we are seeking to fulfill the desires of the flesh and walking in darkness. However, as we walk in the light, we are going to be able to train our senses to identify what is proper and what is wrong (Hebrews 5:14), identify the desires from the flesh (Galatians 5:19-21), recognize the methodologies Satan uses to trip us up (Ephesians 6:10-18), stop directing love towards the world system (1 John 2:15), and walk by the Spirit so that we […]

Cleansing From SinLuther Walker2023-12-14T08:22:10-08:00

Confession of Sins

If, perhaps, we should confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous in order that He should send away our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness – 1 John 1:9

Confession of sins means we are agreeing with God that our action is sin. It is not telling God you sinned, but a verbal agreement with Him that your action was contrary to His expectations of you. In order to agree with God concerning sin, we have to understand what sin is for a Christian. Under the Mosaic Law, sin is defined through the law; however, Christians are not under law (Romans 6:14). In 1 John 3:4 Scripture defines what sin is, which is anything done contrary to God’s standard – “All the ones doing the sin also do the lawlessness, and the sin is the lawlessness.” Sin is lawlessness. What is lawlessness for one who is not under any law? It is not living out from faith (Romans 14:23). For our standard is to live out from faith (Romans 1:17), not by law.

How do we do something that is not out from faith? It comes down to our knowledge and our conscience. Our conscience accuses or excuses our actions (Romans 2:15) based upon our knowledge. When we do something against our conscience as Christians, we are doing something that we know is against God’s expectation of us in that situation and therefore are not taking Him at His Word, which results in sin. The one who eats believing that the food will defile him sins by eating, Romans 14:23. Sin is also manifested when we know to do good, that is to do what God desires, but we choose to go our own way […]

Confession of SinsLuther Walker2023-12-14T08:22:34-08:00

Unrighteousness (ἀδικία)

Unrighteousness (ἀδικία) encompasses both the evil determinations within the mind and the resulting actions that violate standards of right conduct. Therefore, unrighteousness is the bigger term, including both trespasses and sins. A trespass happens within the mind when a determination is made to do something that a person knows is against God’s standard. It is from this desire that sin is birthed, James 1:14-15. Scripture specifically defines sin in 1 John 3:4 as lawlessness and exterior to the body in 1 Corinthians 6:18. Since sins and trespasses are different, for we were dead in both, the trespass happens within the mind when a determination is made to sin and therefore the sin is working out that desire, Ephesians 2:1.

In the first chapter of Romans, we are given a list of unrighteousness. In this list is mental attitudes and actions that are both unrighteous in their nature. “And just as they did not approve worthy to have the God in full experiential knowledge, the God gave them over to an unapproved mind to do what is wrong, being filled up where they lack in all unrighteousness: fornication, malignant evil, covetousness, lacking in character, full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, bad character, secret slanderers, backbiters, haters of God, insolent, haughty, arrogant, inventors of wrong, disobedient to parents, without understanding, untrustworthy, without natural affection, irreconcilable, not merciful.” Romans 1:28-31.

In these last times, there are many false teachers among us who bring in destructive heresies, denying the Lord, 2 Peter 2:1. Their ways are of destruction, they blasphemy the truth and by covetousness exploit with deceptive words, 2 Peter 2:2-3. Many of these go after the way of Balaam, who loved the wages of unrighteousness, 2 Peter 2:15, which is the willingness to manipulate Christians into […]

Unrighteousness (ἀδικία)Luther Walker2023-12-23T11:44:14-08:00

Washing (λουτρόν)

Water is related to the refreshing and sustaining of life. In most conditions a person will only survive a few days without water. This same concept is used concerning our spiritual life having its source and refreshment from the Holy Spirit. This does not associate water baptism with salvation or the Holy Spirit, for water immersion is not for the removal of the filth of the flesh, but for a good conscience towards God, 1 Peter 3:21. Even Paul stated he did not come to baptize with water, but to proclaim with authority the gospel of Christ, 1 Corinthians 1:17.

Jesus spoke of living water that will flow from within the heart of a person. Anyone thirsting that comes to Him in belief will have rivers of living water flowing out from his heart, John 7:36-38. Although the Holy Spirit had not yet been given when He stated this, the revitalizing and sustaining of spiritual life by the Spirit is what Jesus was talking about, John 7:39. Just prior to His death and resurrection, Christ reveals to the disciples that a change is coming in the relationship with them and the Holy Spirit. The Spirit was with them, and will soon be in them, for He will indwell the saints of the coming Church, John 14:17. It is through this revelation that we understand the relationship with the concept of rivers of living water and the Holy Spirit concerning spiritual life.

Jesus spoke of this renewing related to the Holy Spirit with Nicodemus. He explained that a person must be born of water even Spirit to enter the kingdom of the God.

Jesus answered, “Truly, truly I say to you, except someone is born out from water even […]

Washing (λουτρόν)Luther Walker2023-11-25T07:45:14-08:00

The Temple

In the New Testament there are two primary words used for Temple. Hieron (ἱερόν), which describes the temple as a whole and Naos (ναός), the Holy of Holies. This is the inner chamber where God dwells as described in the building of the Temple in Exodus 26:33 as holy of the holies (קֹ֥דֶשׁ הַקֳּדָשִֽׁים), where the ark of the covenant resided and only the High Priest was permitted to enter in once a year to make a sacrifice for the whole nation (Hebrews 9:7).

In Matthew, Jesus calls out the foolishness of the religious leaders who had no issue with someone swearing by the Holy of Holies and breaking their promise, but if they swore by the gold of the Holy of Holies then they were obligated to keep their word (Matthew 23:16). They had the same twisted allegiance to the sacrifice rather than the altar. Yet, the one swearing by the altar also swears by all that is on it, and the one swearing by the Holy of Holies also swears by the One who dwells in it (Matthew 23:20).

In one of Satan’s attempts to lure Jesus into acting independently from God the Father, he takes Him up to the pinnacle of the Temple, Matthew 4:5. His intent was to get Jesus to tempt God by casting Himself off the Temple, for Scripture states that His angels will protect Him. The tempting of God is not appropriate, for God cannot be tempted and tempts no one (James 1:13); therefore, Jesus rebukes Satan for even suggesting it (Matthew 4:7). In seeking to accuse Jesus, the Pharisees seeing His disciples picking grain and eating it as they pass through a grainfield on the Sabbath, tried to call […]

The TempleLuther Walker2023-11-25T07:51:21-08:00

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