 |
| |
 |
If we can agree on this, then Paul is saying that the men should
pray in all the assemblies, lifting up holy hands. This would be as
opposed to lifting up evil hands. It was the custom with the Jews
to lift up their hands in prayer. Paul is not dictating custom here.
The focus is on <holy> as opposed to <evil>. There are
Pentecostal groups that make a big thing out of lifting up their
hands in prayer. The problem is that they are lifting up evil
hands, not holy hands. Satan has tried to besmirch everything
that is right and good in the Bible. The rest of the verse shows
where the emphasis is placed. Without wrath or anger and
doubting or uncertain about what is truth. In other words, if one
is not sure that God is God, and that the Bible is His word, then
he doesn't need to be praying in the assembly, giving the
impression that he is holy when indeed he is evil. If one is angry
he should not be praying in the assembly. His disposition is not in
step with what it ought to be for praying in public.
8 I will therefore that men pray every where, lifting up holy hands,
without wrath and doubting.
*************************************************************
5117 topoj topos top'-os
apparently a primary word; TDNT - 8:187,1184; n m
AV - place 80, room 5, quarter 2, licence 1, coast 1, where 1, plain +
3977 1, rock + 5138 1; 92
1) place, any portion or space marked off, as it were from surrounding
space
1a) an inhabited place, as a city, village, district
1b) a place (passage) in a book
2) metaph.
2a) the condition or station held by one in any company or assembly
2b) opportunity, power, occasion for acting
pray in all the assemblies, lifting up holy hands. This would be as
opposed to lifting up evil hands. It was the custom with the Jews
to lift up their hands in prayer. Paul is not dictating custom here.
The focus is on <holy> as opposed to <evil>. There are
Pentecostal groups that make a big thing out of lifting up their
hands in prayer. The problem is that they are lifting up evil
hands, not holy hands. Satan has tried to besmirch everything
that is right and good in the Bible. The rest of the verse shows
where the emphasis is placed. Without wrath or anger and
doubting or uncertain about what is truth. In other words, if one
is not sure that God is God, and that the Bible is His word, then
he doesn't need to be praying in the assembly, giving the
impression that he is holy when indeed he is evil. If one is angry
he should not be praying in the assembly. His disposition is not in
step with what it ought to be for praying in public.
8 I will therefore that men pray every where, lifting up holy hands,
without wrath and doubting.
*************************************************************
5117 topoj topos top'-os
apparently a primary word; TDNT - 8:187,1184; n m
AV - place 80, room 5, quarter 2, licence 1, coast 1, where 1, plain +
3977 1, rock + 5138 1; 92
1) place, any portion or space marked off, as it were from surrounding
space
1a) an inhabited place, as a city, village, district
1b) a place (passage) in a book
2) metaph.
2a) the condition or station held by one in any company or assembly
2b) opportunity, power, occasion for acting
| 1 Timothy Extension |
In this extension, we answer some questions brought up by
previous study in Timothy. I am including it here as the thoughts
may be of interest to those reading this paper.
The Messiah did not die just to cover our sins regardless of our
actions. We do come under a Covenant, and we have our part in
that agreement. Our part of the Covenant is plain and simple.
We are to keep the ten commandments. That was the same as
expected in the first covenant. Now, for someone to say that he
is a “Christian” and not even know what the Covenant is or what
the ten commandments are saying is grossly wrong.
If someone says that he is a “Christian,” he ought to be studying
what the agreement for a “Christian” is and all that it entails.
Some teachers do not understand that there is such an
agreement. They believe that the Messiah is dumping grace on
them just because they believe that He exists and died for their
sins. This erroneous idea is the result of at least two things. The
misunderstanding of the following verse and other similar verses,
in at least two ways, has brought on this ignorance.
We have to understand that the following verse was in context
with the very end time when the sun would be darkened and the
moon would not give her light. But the application of this in
Peter's day was such that one had to turn his back on what he
currently believed and embrace what was considered heresy, and
even blasphemy, by those in authority. It was not like as if Pa and
Ma and Grandpa and Grandma and everyone else who is anyone
are in favor of you going forward and accepting that “Jesus is the
Christ.” It was like yes, I believe in the Messiah and run for the
hills in order to find safety.
Ac 2:21 And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name
of the Lord shall be saved.
Ac 2:19 And I will shew wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth
beneath; blood, and fire, and vapour of smoke:
20 The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before
that great and notable day of the Lord come:
And further, to believe on that name was inclusive of believing
what the Messiah taught. This is the part that many teachers
ignore. It desires the benefits, but doesn't want to hear about any
obligations. It believes in liberty without obligations. There is no
such thing. In fact, liberty has greater obligations because it
becomes incumbent on such people that they govern themselves
with proper conduct or they will destroy themselves.
As Benjamin Franklin told an inquiring woman after the signing of
the Declaration of Independence, "You have a Democracy,
madam, if you can hold on to it." The thrust is that liberty
requires responsibility. The Bible upholds this truism. Many want
liberty without obligation. Such a people will self-destruct as far
as truth is concerned.
One argument brought up was that "Yahshua did not pay the
penalty for all men..." as the penalty for sin is eternal death. As
we see below, the wages of sin is death. In this phrase, wages is
the penalty. So, whether we use the term <wages> or <penalty>
we are speaking of eternal death as the result of sin. The
contrast to this is that the <gift> of God is eternal life <through>
Yahshua the Messiah, our Master.
Ro 6:23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
As the following verse explains, the Messiah delivered us from
eternal death, and does presently deliver us and will deliver us in
the future. We are not delivered from eternal death at baptism
only. Yes we are delivered there from eternal death, because our
<past> sins are forgiven us. However, we are constantly
incurring the eternal death penalty because of our sins and we are
constantly being delivered because of the intercession of the
Messiah as we ask for that forgiveness.
2Co 1:10 Who delivered us from so great a death, and doth deliver: in
whom we trust that he will yet deliver us;
The Messiah suffered <once> <for> <sins>, the just for the unjust
that He might bring us to God. We know that the Messiah was
without sin. Yet He died for the sins of the whole world.
1Pe 3:18 For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the
unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but
quickened by the Spirit:
1Jo 2:2 And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but
also for the sins of the whole world.
To propitiate is to conciliate an offended power, to appease. To
conciliate means to gain someone's goodwill. It was the Messiah
who gained the goodwill of the Father by dying for our sins.
Nothing that we can do will appease the Father once we have
sinned. As long as we do not sin, we remain in the Father's
goodwill. However, once we have sinned we have gone beyond
anything we can do to bring ourselves back into the Father's
loving kindness. It is at this point that the Messiah steps in and
presents His sacrifice for us. At this point we are brought back
into the goodwill of the Father through the sacrifice of the
Messiah, His blood washing away our sins, and through the life of
the Messiah because He sits as our intercessor to bring our cause
to the Father.
Peter further explains how that propitiation works. It is through
<faith> in the blood of the Messiah. At the time of baptism, we
receive remission of sins that are past.
The word remission means the passing over of our sins because of
The Messiah’s righteousness. The Father accepts the Son’s
righteousness and forbears or restrains Himself in the face of our
provocation or the debt we have incurred. It is the same as a
creditor who does not enforce a debt when it falls due because
someone else has stepped in and paid the debt. But, notice that
this all goes on between the Father and the Son, as long as we ask
forgiveness and have faith in the sacrifice and life of the Messiah.
Ro 3:25 Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his
blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past,
through the forbearance of God;
Justification is by grace alone. Sometimes the KJV translation
puts the word salvation for justification. This causes confusion
because justification is just a part of the salvation process.
Salvation is a “back and forth” process. Some teachers
understand <somewhat> justification at baptism, but they don't
understand the long-term <process>. Because of the KJV
translation usage, they have come to believe that salvation and
justification is synonymous. They have substituted the instant
part for the whole because that requires them to do nothing
except receive the benefits. The reason for this struggle between
sin and forgiveness is so that we may exercise our lives unto
righteousness through the embracing and keeping of the ten
commandments. As we go through this process we have the holy
spirit making possible a life that does not <practice> sin. We do
sin, but we don't sin as a way of life. We are able to cast off the
sinful habits of the past by the power that is within us. God is our
Father, helping us learn to walk by giving us just enough support
to enable us to walk but not giving us so much support that we
become totally dependent on constantly being held up so we can
walk. Sometimes we are allowed to fall to let us know that we
still have something to learn.
The Father is patient and willing to accept the death and life of
the Messiah to cover our sins so long as we are willing to show
that we want eternal life. We do this by trying, with the best of
our ability and with the power that resides in us, to keep the
commandments and to desire the <way> of life that the Father
wants us to live.
We don't die the eternal death in the Messiah. We don't even
receive eternal life through Him in this life. It is he who
overcomes that shall have right to the tree of life. Death in
baptism is a symbolism to teach us that salvation is not a one time,
instant thing only. It is a process as well. We are to consider that
the old man is dead with the practicing of sin that he did. We are
to consider that the Messiah has reconciled our sins that are past
and that we are to walk in newness of life. We now have the holy
spirit, which we didn't have before baptism. Therefore, we have
the mind of God within us and the power of that mind so that we
can live without sin as a way of life.
Because the Messiah has remitted our sins, because he tasted has
death for <every> man, we do not have to die the eternal death.
This has nothing to do with the normal natural death most men
must die. I say most men, for those that are righteous and alive
at the resurrection will not even have to die the natural normal
death of man. The death that the Messiah has tasted for every
man was eternal death, the penalty for the sins we have incurred.
Had the Father not resurrected Him back to life, He would have
lost His life forever.
Heb 2:9 But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the
angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour;
that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man.
His soul was made an offering for sin. An offering as I showed in
the sacrifice or offering series was to keep man or bring man
back into the goodwill of God. This is exactly what the sacrifice
of the Messiah did. His life was accepted for our life. He laid
down His life for us, His friends. He did not die so that we could
die with Him the eternal death.
Isa 53:10 Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief:
when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he
shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his
hand.
If we believe in Him, His sacrifice and His life, we <should> not
perish, but have everlasting life. It is faith in the sacrifice and life
of the Messiah that makes possible salvation. But notice that the
word is <should>, not <would>. There are conditions. There is a
covenant. Salvation is a process.
Joh 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son,
that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting
life.
The Messiah was made <sin> for us even though He knew no sin
that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him. It is
through His blood and faith in His sacrifice that we are cleansed
from all sins and reconciled to the Father.
2Co 5:21 For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that
we might be made the righteousness of God in him.
It was He who died for all. Why? Not that we should from this
time forward live unto ourselves as we did in times past, but that
we should live unto Him.
2Co 5:15 And that he died for all, that they which live should not
henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and
rose again.
He gave Himself a ransom. What is a <ransom>? A ransom is
that which is given in exchange for another as the price of his
redemption. The Passover of the Israelites in Egypt is the type of
this ransom. The blood was spread on the doorpost and was the
redemption of the firstborn of the Israelites. Without the blood,
the firstborn would have died. Even so the Messiah is our ransom
through His blood and His life. The exchange is that the Father
receives the life of the Messiah in place of our life. We have
sinned and we are in debt to the Father. The price of our sins is
eternal death. But, a price has been paid in our stead. The
redemption price is the life of the Messiah. We are not required
to die the eternal death.
1Ti 2:6 Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.
And this price has been paid not only for our sins, but also for the
sins of the whole world. Everyone will eventually have an
opportunity to be redeemed from the penalty of eternal death.
1Jo 2:2 And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but
also for the sins of the whole world.
The sacrifice of The Messiah is the means of our justification. To
justify one is to declare, or pronounce, one to be just, or
righteous. It is through the blood of the Messiah that we are
justified.
Ro 5:9 Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be
saved from wrath through him.
The following verse is even more revealing. Our reconciliation
took place while we were still enemies. This means that the
reconciliation took place when the Messiah died on the tree. But,
that reconciliation goes on! We are currently being reconciled by
His life. Why? Because He is interceding for us on a daily basis
to continually bring us back into the goodwill of the Father
because of our present sins. To reconcile one is to return him to
favour with the one whom he is out of favor. We were out of
favor with the Father because of our sins. The Messiah through
His death and life has, is and will continue to bring us back into
favor with the Father so long as we show that we want eternal
life by striving to please the Father. And I don't mean to give the
impression that we are constantly in the forefront of the battle
slugging it out with Satan as hard as possible. Salvation is a
process that surges and ebbs. But in this process, the thrust is to
life and not to death.
Ro 5:10 For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the
death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his
life.
Now, once we come into covenant with God, He does look upon
us in a different way to a sinner who has not yet been brought
into covenant with Him.
This is something I went into in the Sacrifice or Offering series.
We no longer need that long list of past sins forgiven. The
Messiah died for us once for all. But in His death He covered all
types of sacrifices, not just the sin offering. We are now the
children of God. Then we were not in covenant with Him; now
we are. However, even those in covenant must offer certain
sacrifices for sin in order to be kept in the loving kindness of
God. We offer ourselves a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to
God. When we ask for forgiveness after the covenant is made
with us, we are speaking of trespasses.
Ro 12:1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye
present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is
your reasonable service.
The sin offering was offered for what we <are>. That is a once
for all offering. As the Israelites replayed the plan of God yearly,
they went through this offering more than one time and in
different ways. But, the trespass offering is offered for what we
<do>. The understanding of the differences in these two
offerings helps us to better understand the salvation process.
In effect, some teachers can dimly see the knowledge of the sin
offering. However, they cannot see the trespass offering, or they
have combined the two together. The sin offering refers to the
beginning of the process of salvation. The trespass offering
refers to the ongoing process of salvation. Both must be involved
before one is even a part of those who are being offered salvation.
Continue ...
previous study in Timothy. I am including it here as the thoughts
may be of interest to those reading this paper.
The Messiah did not die just to cover our sins regardless of our
actions. We do come under a Covenant, and we have our part in
that agreement. Our part of the Covenant is plain and simple.
We are to keep the ten commandments. That was the same as
expected in the first covenant. Now, for someone to say that he
is a “Christian” and not even know what the Covenant is or what
the ten commandments are saying is grossly wrong.
If someone says that he is a “Christian,” he ought to be studying
what the agreement for a “Christian” is and all that it entails.
Some teachers do not understand that there is such an
agreement. They believe that the Messiah is dumping grace on
them just because they believe that He exists and died for their
sins. This erroneous idea is the result of at least two things. The
misunderstanding of the following verse and other similar verses,
in at least two ways, has brought on this ignorance.
We have to understand that the following verse was in context
with the very end time when the sun would be darkened and the
moon would not give her light. But the application of this in
Peter's day was such that one had to turn his back on what he
currently believed and embrace what was considered heresy, and
even blasphemy, by those in authority. It was not like as if Pa and
Ma and Grandpa and Grandma and everyone else who is anyone
are in favor of you going forward and accepting that “Jesus is the
Christ.” It was like yes, I believe in the Messiah and run for the
hills in order to find safety.
Ac 2:21 And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name
of the Lord shall be saved.
Ac 2:19 And I will shew wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth
beneath; blood, and fire, and vapour of smoke:
20 The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before
that great and notable day of the Lord come:
And further, to believe on that name was inclusive of believing
what the Messiah taught. This is the part that many teachers
ignore. It desires the benefits, but doesn't want to hear about any
obligations. It believes in liberty without obligations. There is no
such thing. In fact, liberty has greater obligations because it
becomes incumbent on such people that they govern themselves
with proper conduct or they will destroy themselves.
As Benjamin Franklin told an inquiring woman after the signing of
the Declaration of Independence, "You have a Democracy,
madam, if you can hold on to it." The thrust is that liberty
requires responsibility. The Bible upholds this truism. Many want
liberty without obligation. Such a people will self-destruct as far
as truth is concerned.
One argument brought up was that "Yahshua did not pay the
penalty for all men..." as the penalty for sin is eternal death. As
we see below, the wages of sin is death. In this phrase, wages is
the penalty. So, whether we use the term <wages> or <penalty>
we are speaking of eternal death as the result of sin. The
contrast to this is that the <gift> of God is eternal life <through>
Yahshua the Messiah, our Master.
Ro 6:23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
As the following verse explains, the Messiah delivered us from
eternal death, and does presently deliver us and will deliver us in
the future. We are not delivered from eternal death at baptism
only. Yes we are delivered there from eternal death, because our
<past> sins are forgiven us. However, we are constantly
incurring the eternal death penalty because of our sins and we are
constantly being delivered because of the intercession of the
Messiah as we ask for that forgiveness.
2Co 1:10 Who delivered us from so great a death, and doth deliver: in
whom we trust that he will yet deliver us;
The Messiah suffered <once> <for> <sins>, the just for the unjust
that He might bring us to God. We know that the Messiah was
without sin. Yet He died for the sins of the whole world.
1Pe 3:18 For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the
unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but
quickened by the Spirit:
1Jo 2:2 And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but
also for the sins of the whole world.
To propitiate is to conciliate an offended power, to appease. To
conciliate means to gain someone's goodwill. It was the Messiah
who gained the goodwill of the Father by dying for our sins.
Nothing that we can do will appease the Father once we have
sinned. As long as we do not sin, we remain in the Father's
goodwill. However, once we have sinned we have gone beyond
anything we can do to bring ourselves back into the Father's
loving kindness. It is at this point that the Messiah steps in and
presents His sacrifice for us. At this point we are brought back
into the goodwill of the Father through the sacrifice of the
Messiah, His blood washing away our sins, and through the life of
the Messiah because He sits as our intercessor to bring our cause
to the Father.
Peter further explains how that propitiation works. It is through
<faith> in the blood of the Messiah. At the time of baptism, we
receive remission of sins that are past.
The word remission means the passing over of our sins because of
The Messiah’s righteousness. The Father accepts the Son’s
righteousness and forbears or restrains Himself in the face of our
provocation or the debt we have incurred. It is the same as a
creditor who does not enforce a debt when it falls due because
someone else has stepped in and paid the debt. But, notice that
this all goes on between the Father and the Son, as long as we ask
forgiveness and have faith in the sacrifice and life of the Messiah.
Ro 3:25 Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his
blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past,
through the forbearance of God;
Justification is by grace alone. Sometimes the KJV translation
puts the word salvation for justification. This causes confusion
because justification is just a part of the salvation process.
Salvation is a “back and forth” process. Some teachers
understand <somewhat> justification at baptism, but they don't
understand the long-term <process>. Because of the KJV
translation usage, they have come to believe that salvation and
justification is synonymous. They have substituted the instant
part for the whole because that requires them to do nothing
except receive the benefits. The reason for this struggle between
sin and forgiveness is so that we may exercise our lives unto
righteousness through the embracing and keeping of the ten
commandments. As we go through this process we have the holy
spirit making possible a life that does not <practice> sin. We do
sin, but we don't sin as a way of life. We are able to cast off the
sinful habits of the past by the power that is within us. God is our
Father, helping us learn to walk by giving us just enough support
to enable us to walk but not giving us so much support that we
become totally dependent on constantly being held up so we can
walk. Sometimes we are allowed to fall to let us know that we
still have something to learn.
The Father is patient and willing to accept the death and life of
the Messiah to cover our sins so long as we are willing to show
that we want eternal life. We do this by trying, with the best of
our ability and with the power that resides in us, to keep the
commandments and to desire the <way> of life that the Father
wants us to live.
We don't die the eternal death in the Messiah. We don't even
receive eternal life through Him in this life. It is he who
overcomes that shall have right to the tree of life. Death in
baptism is a symbolism to teach us that salvation is not a one time,
instant thing only. It is a process as well. We are to consider that
the old man is dead with the practicing of sin that he did. We are
to consider that the Messiah has reconciled our sins that are past
and that we are to walk in newness of life. We now have the holy
spirit, which we didn't have before baptism. Therefore, we have
the mind of God within us and the power of that mind so that we
can live without sin as a way of life.
Because the Messiah has remitted our sins, because he tasted has
death for <every> man, we do not have to die the eternal death.
This has nothing to do with the normal natural death most men
must die. I say most men, for those that are righteous and alive
at the resurrection will not even have to die the natural normal
death of man. The death that the Messiah has tasted for every
man was eternal death, the penalty for the sins we have incurred.
Had the Father not resurrected Him back to life, He would have
lost His life forever.
Heb 2:9 But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the
angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour;
that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man.
His soul was made an offering for sin. An offering as I showed in
the sacrifice or offering series was to keep man or bring man
back into the goodwill of God. This is exactly what the sacrifice
of the Messiah did. His life was accepted for our life. He laid
down His life for us, His friends. He did not die so that we could
die with Him the eternal death.
Isa 53:10 Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief:
when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he
shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his
hand.
If we believe in Him, His sacrifice and His life, we <should> not
perish, but have everlasting life. It is faith in the sacrifice and life
of the Messiah that makes possible salvation. But notice that the
word is <should>, not <would>. There are conditions. There is a
covenant. Salvation is a process.
Joh 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son,
that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting
life.
The Messiah was made <sin> for us even though He knew no sin
that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him. It is
through His blood and faith in His sacrifice that we are cleansed
from all sins and reconciled to the Father.
2Co 5:21 For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that
we might be made the righteousness of God in him.
It was He who died for all. Why? Not that we should from this
time forward live unto ourselves as we did in times past, but that
we should live unto Him.
2Co 5:15 And that he died for all, that they which live should not
henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and
rose again.
He gave Himself a ransom. What is a <ransom>? A ransom is
that which is given in exchange for another as the price of his
redemption. The Passover of the Israelites in Egypt is the type of
this ransom. The blood was spread on the doorpost and was the
redemption of the firstborn of the Israelites. Without the blood,
the firstborn would have died. Even so the Messiah is our ransom
through His blood and His life. The exchange is that the Father
receives the life of the Messiah in place of our life. We have
sinned and we are in debt to the Father. The price of our sins is
eternal death. But, a price has been paid in our stead. The
redemption price is the life of the Messiah. We are not required
to die the eternal death.
1Ti 2:6 Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.
And this price has been paid not only for our sins, but also for the
sins of the whole world. Everyone will eventually have an
opportunity to be redeemed from the penalty of eternal death.
1Jo 2:2 And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but
also for the sins of the whole world.
The sacrifice of The Messiah is the means of our justification. To
justify one is to declare, or pronounce, one to be just, or
righteous. It is through the blood of the Messiah that we are
justified.
Ro 5:9 Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be
saved from wrath through him.
The following verse is even more revealing. Our reconciliation
took place while we were still enemies. This means that the
reconciliation took place when the Messiah died on the tree. But,
that reconciliation goes on! We are currently being reconciled by
His life. Why? Because He is interceding for us on a daily basis
to continually bring us back into the goodwill of the Father
because of our present sins. To reconcile one is to return him to
favour with the one whom he is out of favor. We were out of
favor with the Father because of our sins. The Messiah through
His death and life has, is and will continue to bring us back into
favor with the Father so long as we show that we want eternal
life by striving to please the Father. And I don't mean to give the
impression that we are constantly in the forefront of the battle
slugging it out with Satan as hard as possible. Salvation is a
process that surges and ebbs. But in this process, the thrust is to
life and not to death.
Ro 5:10 For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the
death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his
life.
Now, once we come into covenant with God, He does look upon
us in a different way to a sinner who has not yet been brought
into covenant with Him.
This is something I went into in the Sacrifice or Offering series.
We no longer need that long list of past sins forgiven. The
Messiah died for us once for all. But in His death He covered all
types of sacrifices, not just the sin offering. We are now the
children of God. Then we were not in covenant with Him; now
we are. However, even those in covenant must offer certain
sacrifices for sin in order to be kept in the loving kindness of
God. We offer ourselves a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to
God. When we ask for forgiveness after the covenant is made
with us, we are speaking of trespasses.
Ro 12:1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye
present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is
your reasonable service.
The sin offering was offered for what we <are>. That is a once
for all offering. As the Israelites replayed the plan of God yearly,
they went through this offering more than one time and in
different ways. But, the trespass offering is offered for what we
<do>. The understanding of the differences in these two
offerings helps us to better understand the salvation process.
In effect, some teachers can dimly see the knowledge of the sin
offering. However, they cannot see the trespass offering, or they
have combined the two together. The sin offering refers to the
beginning of the process of salvation. The trespass offering
refers to the ongoing process of salvation. Both must be involved
before one is even a part of those who are being offered salvation.
Continue ...
| 1 Timothy |