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And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. (Revelation 21:1) |
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All we need to understand at this time concerning redemption and the Kingdom of God is present in the Book of Revelation. |
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The vision of the new heaven and earth, and the new Jerusalem, is to be interpreted spiritually and also somewhat literally. The Book of Revelation is exceedingly rich in spiritual concepts. |
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Let us hold firmly to the glorious hope of a new world wherein dwells righteousness for it shall certainly come into view. God will dwell on the earth and His servants will serve Him. The Lamb and His Wife will be the Light of the creation to the ages of ages. |
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Our present life is so brief! We have such a short time in which to demonstrate the faithfulness of our personality, our love for God, our responsibility toward God's Christ, the Lord Jesus. We sing our song, utter the parable that is our personality. There is some laughter, many tears, and then the present life is finished. Now we have all of eternity to consider how we behaved while under the dark pressures of earth. |
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Let us make the best possible use of every day, laying hold on the Lord with all the vigor we possess. A time of trouble is on the horizon. The Gentile holocaust is at hand. There will be many days of terror. The nations will be in turmoil, not being able to cope with what is taking place. |
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During this period of tribulation the Wife of the Lamb will undergo the separating and refining necessary for her union with Christ. Christ and Antichrist will work their works on the earth. God suddenly will confront Satan and demand an accounting of his behavior. Man will be seen as the insignificant dust that he is, for true power and authority exist in the spirit realm. |
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Only in Christ do we have any significance, any security, any hope. |
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We can, if we choose, press onward and upward until we stand in the fullness of glory in Christ. Or we can waste our life, as Satan intends we should, on the trinkets of the present lustful, violent world. |
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God has called us, especially we who are living in the end of the age, to places of authority and power in the Kingdom. These are days of fantastic opportunity and also terrible danger. Let us behave ourselves as sons of God so we may receive the fullness of the inheritance. |
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Let us pray without ceasing in order that we may escape the spiritual dangers that threaten us from every side with spiritual destruction. |
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Let us take up our cross and follow Jesus in stern obedience to God so we will be found worthy to stand in the Presence of Christ and not be ashamed before Him at His glorious appearing with the holy angels. |
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The last two chapters of the Book of Revelation are of supreme importance. They set forth the goal, the final result of the eternal purpose of God Almighty. |
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All else is scaffolding. All of our religious things and exercises are means to the ends presented here. No part of the vision can be changed in any manner whatever. It all will take place precisely as written. |
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Perhaps every concept of the Kingdom of God is included in these two chapters. (from The Eternal Purpose of God) |
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There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. (Romans 8:1,2) |
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These two verses must be understood in terms of the preceding chapters of the Book of Romans. |
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Paul has been laboring with the Jews to show them God is perfectly able to ascribe righteousness apart from the Law of Moses. |
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In Chapter Six Paul then adds a necessary explanation. Being free from the Law of Moses and being justified by faith do not mean we now are free to sin or that Divine grace is an alternative to righteous behavior. If we do not choose to present the members of our physical body as slaves of righteousness we will die spiritually. |
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Chapter Seven reveals the plight of the individual who is made aware of his sinful state by the Law of Moses. He wants to keep the Law but finds there is an urge to sin dwelling in his flesh. What is he to do? Who can deliver him from the chains of sin that bind his body? |
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With his mind he rejoices in the Law of Moses but is imprisoned by the sin dwelling in his body. |
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Since he is committing acts of sin that the Law condemns, and that he himself condemns, he lives under constant condemnation. So we have two problems: the first is Paul being forced to do things both he and the Law hold to be sinful; the second is the condemnation that results when we know we are sinning against God. |
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The resolution of this bondage must ultimately include both removal of condemnation and release from the power of sin to control us. |
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Therefore we understand the eighth chapter of Romans to be Paul's way of coping with the discrepancy between what he wants to do in his mind and what his flesh wants to do. |
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So Paul begins with the problem of condemnation: "There is no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus." |
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Please note carefully it does not say, "There is no condemnation to those who have taken the four steps of salvation," or "there is no condemnation to those who have made a decision for Christ" (a wretched expression from my point of view). |
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The all-important requirement is that we are "in Christ Jesus." We are without condemnation if we are "in Christ Jesus." |
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Now, what does it mean to be in Christ Jesus? |
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To be in Christ Jesus is to be living in Him right now! It does not say those who were in Christ Jesus or those who will be in Christ Jesus but those who are in Christ Jesus. |
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Are you in Christ Jesus right now? Is everything you are thinking, saying, and doing proceeding from His Presence in you? If not, why not? |
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Are you counting on some action you took in the past to be keeping you from condemnation? It won't work. It is yesterday's manna. You are not in Christ Jesus, you were in Christ Jesus and it does not say there is no condemnation to those who were in Christ Jesus. |
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To be continued. |
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Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. (John 15:4) |
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Right now, while you are reading these words, drop what you are doing and say, "Lord Jesus, I want to be in You right now. I want every thought, every word, and every action to be found in You. Amen." |
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This is how the Apostle Paul lived as he was seeking to resolve the conflict between his flesh and his mind. |
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When you find yourself in Christ Jesus you will be free from all condemnation. Jesus has taken care of your guilt, your condemnation. |
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But let not the casual, nominal believer think he or she is free from condemnation because of some prior religious act. God is the God of the now. Today is the day of salvation. |
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The Book of Ezekiel points out a very important Kingdom principle. If the wicked person turns from his wickedness and practices righteousness his wickedness will not be mentioned to him. |
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If the righteous person turns from his righteousness and practices wickedness his righteousness will not be mentioned to him. |
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If you think for one moment that these Kingdom principles have changed because we are under "grace" you do not understand the new covenant. The new covenant never alters the principles of the Kingdom, it enables us to adhere to these unchanging reflections of the eternal moral Nature of God. |
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It always is true that the soul that sins shall die. It always is true that the righteous shall live in God's sight. The Lord Jesus did not come to change God's Nature and will but to forgive us and help us please God. How could it be otherwise? |
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Get into Jesus now and you can forget about condemnation. |
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The law of sin and death is the interaction of the Law of Moses with the sin that dwells in our flesh. |
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The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus is the interaction of the commandments of the Apostles with the Holy Spirit (as we pray and ask for help and seek to obey the commandments of Christ and His Apostles), leading to the forming of Christ in us and ultimately the eternal dwelling of the Father and the Son in our transformed inner nature all through the Spirit of God. In the meanwhile the righteousness of Christ imputed to us is keeping us free from condemnation. |
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We can forget about the Law of Moses as long as we are crucified with Christ and risen with Him. But if we are living in the flesh, not abiding in Christ, the Law is present, looking over our shoulder and condemning us to death. |
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As long as we are walking in the Spirit of God, being sternly obedient to Christ through the Spirit, the Law of Moses cannot condemn us. Since the law of sin and death depends on the accusations of the Law of Moses to function, we now are free from the condemnation that is part of the law of sin and death. |
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As we shall see as we proceed, the law of the Spirit of Life sets us free not only from condemnation but from the power of sin to control us. However, total deliverance from the power of sin is a process that works over a period of time. |
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In the meanwhile we remain free from condemnation. |
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This is part of the resolution of Paul's conflict between his mind and his flesh. |
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For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. (Romans 8:3,4) |
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The Law of Moses was "weak through the flesh." This means it looked to the flesh to satisfy the Law's requirements. The flesh cannot do this because sin dwells in the flesh. |
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There is nothing at all wrong with the Law of Moses. The Law is holy, righteous, and good. But our flesh is an enemy of the righteous behavior commanded by the Law. |
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God sent Christ in the likeness of sinful flesh. Yet there was no sin dwelling in His flesh. |
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Christ, because of His sinless nature, was able to keep perfectly every point of the Law. Thus He was the spotless Lamb who was able to make a perfect atonement for sin. No accuser could witness against Him. Christ showed that the Law of Moses was a good law, a righteous law, and that the righteous individual who was not bound by sin could observe every statute and ordinance. |
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Christ mastered the Law! Christ mastered sin! He came forth victorious from the struggle with Satan. A Man has kept the Law of Moses! |
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Now what? Now Christ can ascribe His righteousness to any individual of His choice. God has accepted the principle of transferred righteousness. It's a good thing He has because we would be in bad shape if He hadn't! |
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Righteousness is by the Law of Moses. Christ gives us His righteousness, the righteousness of the One who kept the Law of Moses. |
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But there is a proviso here and I fear it is not always emphasized in our day. It is that we do not walk in the appetites of our sinful flesh but in the Spirit of God. |
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Now here is a thing. The righteous requirements of the Law of Moses are fulfilled in us as we do not follow our sinful flesh but through the Spirit obey the commandments given through Christ and His Apostles. |
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What if we do not make the effort to pray, read the Scriptures, gather with fervent disciples, serve, give, and do the other things mentioned in the Epistles? |
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The answer is, the righteous requirements of the Law of Moses are not fulfilled in us. We are under condemnation. |
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"But I have taken the four steps of salvation." They are not enough. There is a fifth step: walk in the Spirit of God for the rest of your days on the earth. |
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"But I have made a decision for Christ." Cool. What does that mean? |
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Are you saying you have decided to believe Jesus is the Son of God? The demons know this better than you. |
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Are you saying you have decided to believe Jesus is Lord of all? Don't you think the demons know this? The demons have trouble saying this and meaning it. When you say Jesus is Lord, then act like He is Lord of your life. You are His slave. Humble yourself before the Lord of Glory! There is saving merit in truly confessing Jesus as your Lord. |
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Are you saying you have decided to believe Jesus was raised from the dead? I imagine the demons understand this very well. |
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Do you mean you have come to the conclusion you cannot save yourself and must be washed in His blood to have your sins forgiven? If you really lay hold on this concept there is saving power. But you must do more than have your head sprinkled with water so you can join a church. |
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What do you mean you have made a "decision for Christ?" This expression has little to do with the Christian salvation unless you mean by this you have decided to follow Jesus. Do you want life through His name? Then start serving Him with a whole heart. |
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I know it's hard to find a good church. So many are preaching lawless grace, the rapture, and Jesus did it all. But there are faithful pastors out there who are flowing with the Spirit of God. Pray and God will help you find a church that is preaching the Gospel of the Kingdom. When you find one, move to the neighborhood if you have to but get with saints who are going on with the Lord. |
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The day of the "lone ranger" is over. |
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All this is part of the resolution of Paul's conflict between his mind and his flesh. |
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For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. (Romans 8:5) |
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Please keep in mind that the eighth chapter of Romans is Paul's way of resolving the dilemma presented by the Law of Moses and his flesh. The flesh contains sin. The Law of Moses condemns sin. Paul wants to keep the Law but the urges to sin residing in his flesh keep trying to make him break the Law of Moses. |
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How does Romans 8:5 help resolve the dilemma? |
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Those who are living in the things of the flesh have their mind set on the things of the flesh. The things of the flesh consist of eating, sleeping, working, playing, and reproducing. While none of these in itself is sinful the urges to sin cause us to warp and pervert that which of itself is not sinful. |
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Eating turns into gluttony. Sleeping turns into laziness and sluggishness. Working becomes an idol. Playing turns into an unceasing round of entertainment. Reproducing becomes lust. |
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One of the great gods of America is sexual lust. If our spiritual eyes were open and we could see the goblin creatures, the gibbering dwarfs, the serpents, the drooling monsters that sponsor the adultery, fornication, filthy talk, pornography, perversions in our nation we would flee to the Lord for deliverance. |
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Satan is the incarnation of lust. We have opened the doors to Satan and his lust in the United States of America. The present perversions will soon turn into legalized incest, the removal of statutes governing nudity, man-boy relationships, human-animal relationships, and finally cannibalism. |
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God cursed the serpent with a craving for "dust," that is, human flesh. Snakes do not eat dust, they eat small animals. But the great serpent, Satan, is bound with eternal fires of craving for human flesh. This is why we see and hear of the unbelievable accounts of the raping and maiming of young girls, the molestation of babies, the practices of masochism and sadism, and so forth. |
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The American government will never have the strength to prevent the brutalization of its populace until the churches drive lust from their midst. The truth is, the Evangelical churches in many instances, from the Pastor to the last member of the congregation, are filled with lust, including child molestation and reading pornography. |
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Those who set their minds on the Spirit of God spend time in prayer and Bible-reading each day. They gather with fervent saints. Christ is the center of their life. They talk about Christ, think about Christ, obey Christ in every instance. |
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You may think I am describing fanaticism. Let me tell you that until you so immerse yourself in Christ that He becomes the center and circumference of your whole being, you will be led astray by the deception and lusts of Satan. |
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Men who at one time had been honorable husbands and fathers leave their family and live with a married woman. Why? Because they are so bound with lust they cannot control themselves. The same with women. |
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If you think you are strong enough and wise enough to stand against the demons you are badly mistaken. You are not! They are wiser and stronger than you. |
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Salvation is of the Lord. Unless the Lord helps you, your a goner. Take it from a friend. |
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For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. (Romans 8:6) |
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A few years back behavioral psychology and scientific materialism were in vogue. These proved to be cold bedfellows. |
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In the present hour we are experiencing a deep spiritual hunger in America. Some outstanding scientists have become involved in the occult, in particular, various forms of the Hindu religion. Drugs are playing an important role in enabling people to escape the rigors of life in the physical world. |
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Man has a spiritual nature. It cannot be satisfied by a materialistic approach to life. People yearn for the horns of elfland, as Lewis would put it. |
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We can satisfy our longing for spiritual life in the Hindu or Buddhist religions or in some of the New Age adventures. These may be the "deep things" of Satan, falsely so- called. However there are no deep things of Satan. The things of Satan always prove to be bags of hot air. |
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Your present writer loves to think about the spirit Paradise. In fact I have a collection of books that deal with visions and near-death experiences. If you know of any good ones you might forward the titles to me. |
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In Satan's spiritual world there are exciting experiences, such as astral projection. But in the end you are going to be confined with the demons you have chosen. How would you like to spend eternity in a cage with a few demons? |
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In Jesus Christ's spiritual world there are exciting experiences. Believe me you can walk hand in hand with Jesus through the most beautiful meadows imaginable. There you are surrounded with righteousness, peace, joy, and every other desirable attitude and experience. |
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Jesus can satisfy your desire for the mystical, and he doesn't add the moral filth of demons with it. |
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Satan is real, make no mistake. Once you deal with him you will be a long time (if you ever do!) escaping his clutches. |
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God is very jealous. If He sees you prefer Satan He will turn away from you quickly. But coming back to the Lord can be tremendously difficult. Once you have been in the occult, and then try to confess your involvement as having been sin, you will feel the hand of pride around your throat choking you. You may finally gain deliverance but it's hard. |
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To pray, read your Bible, gather with the saints, serve, give, may not seem as exotic as doing drugs and hallucinating. But let me assure you there are mystical depths in Christ that Satan has never heard of. |
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You will have spiritual life and peace today, and when you die you will be in the Paradise of God, not in a cage with demons. |
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Keeping your mind and heart stayed on Jesus Christ is part of the answer to Paul's dilemma. As long as you are living the typical adamic life, occupied with what you are eating, drinking, wearing, marrying and giving in marriage, buying and selling, you will never enjoy lasting life and peace. There is spiritual death in the pursuit of the material world. |
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But to go to God in prayer every day, listening for His voice, meditating in the Scriptures, having the assurance that should you die right now you will be in a world where there is Christmas every morning, where all you have loved will be present even your old dog that died years ago. |
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Hey, I wish I were with the Lord now even though I love my family dearly. But there is work to be done and I don't want to go until it's finished. |
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Do you have this joyous assurance? Do you look forward to death as a child looks forward to Christmas morning? |
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You can, you know. |
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Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. (Romans 8:7) |
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Our mind, our power to think, is an enemy of God. It is hostile toward God. How did it get that way? I don't have the foggiest. But our mind is the enemy of God. |
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We don't find God through our mind. God is not a philosopher. He is a fire, a sword. He demands a blood offering in order to make an atonement. |
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Jesus Christ came to reconcile us to God and to show God to us. Christ we can understand somewhat because He is a Man. But God is a Spirit. |
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Our mind is set on the things of the world how it can find pleasure through the five senses of the body. |
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Here is an important fact: God did not give us a mind so we could plan our way. God gave us a mind so we could understand God's will and do it. |
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The saint trusts God with all his heart and does not lean to his own understanding. In all his ways he acknowledges the Lord and the Lord direct his paths. |
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The sons of God are led in every decision by the Spirit of God. This is the rest of God. This is how Jesus lives. |
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Our mind says "no way" to this kind of decision-making, because our mind is the enemy of God. But our born-again spiritual nature rejoices at the opportunity to be able to trust God and not have to figure everything out. |
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God planned your life from the beginning of the world. It is the responsibility of your mind to help you find God's will, not to create your own heaven and earth. |
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Perhaps the greatest hurdle in front of the would-be overcomer is the insistence of the mind to maintain control over the personality. |
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The Apostle John "saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years." |
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It is possible that the beheading mentioned here is literal. But this would restrict the royal priesthood to the saints who died by decapitation. |
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Much of the Book of Revelation is symbolic. For example, we know that stars cannot fall to the earth because stars are very much larger than the earth. So we have to pray and find out God's meaning. |
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It is my personal viewpoint that being "beheaded" for the witness of Jesus and for the Word of God refers to the subject of the present essay. We must get rid of our fleshly, sinful, rebellious mind and put on the mind of Christ. |
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Whether my interpretation is correct or not, one thing is certain: until we turn over our life to God and follow the Spirit instead of our own mind we will not get far in the victorious Christian life. |
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This too is part of the resolution of Paul's dilemma concerning the conflict between his mental desire to obey the Law and the sin dwelling in his flesh. |
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