The Sanctuary Study Pt. 9
Good vs. Evil
The great cosmic battle that involves the whole world and each and every individual.
A battle being fought, sides being chosen, and yet a battle won.
Sometimes hearing the words, 'You don't have to decide just yet.' Are a good thing. They bring relief from pressure, they give you time to think things over and make a decision. Other time hearing those words simply prolongs the agony of indecision. Then again, sometimes hearing the words are nice but being able to make that decision right away feels good- knowing your mind without having to think about it at all.
Too many people live in that world of indecision when it comes to choosing the side they want to be on, good or evil. Too many hover about the middle ground thinking it to be a nice place to hang out not choosing either side. Some lean in one direction or another but aren't making that ultimate choice just yet. It's sad really and life threatening. However, in our world today we've so much confusion that we've pretty much taken the life threatening aspect out of the decision and made it easy for people to hover.
Sin is punishable by death.
The penalty must be paid.
Jesus paid it for all, but all don't accept His sacrifice.
The action on our part towards salvation is to repent and accept sincerely.
Let's read more about the Sanctuary and God's plan for us sinners, the intricate details involved in things can be quite amazing if you're willing to dig deep for them and have more than a surface salvation.
Picking up with William Grotheer's thought paper bits on the Sanctuary we continue here--
Basic Principles From God's Viewpoint -- Light From the Throne -- Continued --
Can God forgive sin as a matter of fact?
The answer is - NO!
Consider the terms of the 40-Day Covenant.
Moses was told - which he in turn conveyed to the people - "Behold, I send an Angel before thee .... Beware of him, and obey his voice, provoke him not; for he will not pardon your transgressions: for my name is in him." (Ex. 23:20-21)
To forgive sin per se would reflect upon the very character of God, and place in jeopardy the entire universe. A whole series of questions arise. Is God just? Does He mean what He says? Is He infallible? Are there alternatives? Can pluralism exist in the universe? Or is there just one way of righteousness? These questions are as new as today, and as old as eternity, yet basic to the question - Can God forgive sin?
Does God forgive sin?
The answer is YES.
When Israel sinned and broke the 40-Day Covenant, Moses told the people that he would "go up unto the Lord; peradventure I shall make an atonement for your sin." In speaking with the Lord, Moses made confession for Israel "This people have sinned a great sin." Then he said - "Yet now, if thou wilt forgive their, sin -;" (Ex. 32:31-32) An extended pleading followed on the part of Moses, climaxing in the request - "I beseech thee, show me thy glory." (Ex. 33:18) To this God consented, and placing Moses "in a clift of the rock" and covering him with His hand, He passed by proclaiming "the name of the Lord." In this self-revelation, God declared Himself to be "merciful and gracious ... keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin." (Ex. 33:22; 34:5-7)
How then do we reconcile the Name of the Lord which cannot pardon transgression, and the revelation of that God as merciful, "forgiving ... transgression and sin"? Paul answers this question by stating that "through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, God can remain "just" and yet show forgiving mercy to the one believing "in Jesus." (Rom. 3:24-26)
Romans {3:24} Being justified freely by
his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:
{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; {3:26} To declare, [I say,] at this time his
righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him
which believeth in Jesus.
This reconciling revelation of God's character is portrayed in the sanctuary services of types and shadows.
Another basic principle from God's viewpoint can be recognized by asking the question - "Can I provide for the forgiveness of my sins?"
The answer is an emphatic - NO!
To do so would be my demise for time and eternity. This is what the Judgment of the Great White Throne is all about. Those who stand to be judged before that Throne must provide for their own transgressions. These can be satisfied only in the second death. (Rev. 20:12-15)
Rev.{20:12} And I saw
the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books
were opened: and another book was opened, which is [the
book] of life: and the dead were judged out of those things
which were written in the books, according to their works.
{20:13} And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and
death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them:
and they were judged every man according to their works.
{20:14} And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire.
This is the second death. {20:15} And whosoever was not
found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of
fire.
God is just. There is a wrath of God against sin. The Third Angel's Message reveals how His wrath will be manifest against those who persist in worshiping the epitome of iniquity. (Rev. 14: 9-10)
Rev. {14:9} And the
third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any
man worship the beast and his image, and receive [his]
mark in his forehead, or in his hand, {14:10} The same shall
drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out
without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall
be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the
holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb
There is only one escape. Having been justified by the blood of Christ, "we shall be saved from wrath through Him." (Rom. 5:9) Again the sanctuary reveals the way.
Romans {5:9}
Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall
be saved from wrath through him.
Vignettes -- In the book of Genesis, there are vignettes revealing man's inability to face his Maker in an acceptable way. The record states that as soon as the first pair sinned, they perceived their nakedness, and made for themselves "aprons" of fig leaves. (Gen. 3:7) But when the Lord God called to Adam - "Where art thou?" - he responded - "I was afraid because naked I (am); and I hid myself." (3:10, Heb.) You will observe that in the KJV, the word, "was," is supplied. The word order of the Hebrew would indicate the use of "am" rather than "was". Even though Adam, and Eve had covered their nakedness with a garment of their devising; when facing God, they sensed how totally inadequate was the "apron" of their making. To meet their need, God Himself took the first life ever taken in the universe from all eternity, and made for them "coats of skins." (3:21) In the light of this sketch, how vain is the hope that man can by his works obtain the favor of God, and thereby atone for his transgressions.
The word sketch from the life of Cain and Abel reveals a fundamental principle upon which the message of the sanctuary is based.
Cain brought of the fruit of the ground and expected the Lord to accept his offering. He perceived of it as something he had produced, even as his parents had made "aprons" from the things of nature.
Abel, on the other hand, brought of the flock, and life was taken.
God can forgive sin, but only when the penalty of that sin is met.
Abel provided his recognition of that fact. "The Lord had respect unto Abel and to his offering: but unto Cain and to his offering He had not respect." (Gen. 4:4-5)
How is man to regain acceptance with God? Through his works? A thousand times - No!
How then?
Through the acceptance from God of the Offering He has provided.
In other words, Abel "obeyed" the gospel. He accepted the basic principle upon which God could be just and the justifier of those who would accept His provision for sin. Tragically, there will be untold millions even professed Christians - who will suffer the "vengeance" of "flaming fire" because they "know not God and ... obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ." (II Thess. 1:8)
God is just and cannot condone sin. Because man cannot provide for his own nakedness, God has provided a covering in Jesus Christ. This is the gospel.
This is the way of God in the sanctuary. The acceptance of that way is to "obey the gospel."
The Basic "Gospel" In Leviticus -- The unfolding of the "gospel" revealed in the sanctuary is found in the book of Leviticus. In the instruction for the first offering - the law of the burnt offering - fundamental principles were enunciated.
First, the offering was to be "voluntary" - no coercion. (Lev. 1:3) Even as God freely provided for man's redemption, so man's acceptance of the means of redemption must be from a willing heart.
Secondly, it was to be offered at "the entrance of the tabernacle of the congregation." A significance of this rule will be seen when we study the sin offerings in particular.
Thirdly, the offerer "put his hand upon the head of the burnt offering." (Lev. 1:4) The Hebrew word, samach, means "to lean upon in full support." This word is also used in Amos 5:19 describing a man who leaned with his hand upon a wall. This placing of the hand in full support upon the offering signified total dependence.
Fourth, the offering was "accepted for him to make atonement." This principle is fundamental and applies to all offerings wherein the hand is laid upon the victim. It is especially significant when understood in relationship to the sin offering. In the Hebrew, one word - chatta' th - is used for both "sin" and "sin offering." The sacrificial animal became sin, and was accepted in the place of the offerer. In the elementary burnt offering and in the sin offering, the one offering sacrifice slew the victim. (Lev. 1:5) The disposition of the blood differed, and in the elementary burnt offering, the whole of the animal was burned on the altar. (Lev. 1:7-9) Of Christ, Paul wrote - God "hath made Him to be sin for us." (II Cor. 5:21) Jesus is accepted in our stead to make atonement. Upon Him, we must place our full dependence.
***
I'm going to stop here for now, but there is so much more to go into, so much more to understand. If you can, look up each and every verse mentioned here, study the word of God, study as if your life depends upon understanding because it really does.
We need to understand that there is only one sacrifice acceptable to God and it's not anything we have to offer, not one single thing. We can be the best person in all the world giving millions to millions, helping in everyway we can, we can devote our lives to the service of others living frugally just so we can give more to others and in the end that will mean absolutely nothing if we haven't Christ. If we don't realize that nothing we do will save us but go on trying to save ourselves, we're lost.
The Sanctuary services were in place for thousands of years. The Sanctuary was given to God's chosen people so that they might know the way to God. The Sanctuary was a type, a shadow of the heavenly. Christ came as a living Sanctuary and we need to realize that just as those before Christ who came to the earthly sanctuary and with a sincere heart of repentance brought a sin offering to God, pleading for forgiveness, leaning on that living sacrificial lamb and then knowing that the price of their transgression warranted an innocent life, they took the knife and sliced the throat of the lamb. Just as that person was truly forgiven by the realization of sin demanding death and sacrifice, we too are truly forgiven when we realize that our sins are placed upon Jesus and he died so he could save us, He is our Sacrificial Lamb without Him there is no hope. There is nothing we can do to save ourselves, nothing.
May God help us, keep us, teach us, show us all we need to know to be His and for us to know Him and for Him to know us.
By His Grace and Mercy, now and forever.
Amen.
12/22/09
Rom 8:5 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.
Minding things of the Spirit.
Do you mind things of the Spirit? Seriously. Think about it for a few moments. How much minding of the Spirit do you do? Tending to the flesh is rather easy isn't it? Think about it. It's easy to grab up a bite to eat, pop it in our mouths, chew it, swallow it and fulfill the need of hunger our flesh feels. When you're thirsty it's simple to get a glass of water and take care of that thirst, for the most part- in most parts of the world anyway. Do you think it's easier for someone who is finding it hard to find food and drink to tend to their spirit? It's something to think about.
Another thing to think about, do we have spiritual pangs to tell us we're in need of spiritual tending? Have we so warped ourselves that we can't recognize our spiritual need- passing it off as something else entirely.
We have so many mental and emotional illnesses we can scarcely count them. People today take so many pills geared to just help them get through the day it's unbelievable. Yet we refuse to recognize anything as a spiritual illness. The spiritual is a choice people say. We don't have to be spiritual. We can choose to not believe in the spiritual side of things. And people fully believe that in making that choice their spiritual side simply no longer exists. If they don't believe it, then it isn't there, it isn't a part of them. They don't need that bit- if it's even real- discard it like a diseased appendix, or a rotten tooth, toss it aside as the deadened flesh of the remainder of an umbilical cord that was once attached to everyone of us and needed to dry up and fall away. Why such a graphic example? Because how many of us think about that bit of our flesh that was knotted off and allowed to perish away as useless? Sure we might consider our belly button, our navels on occasion perhaps to decorate them with jewelry or tug a piece of fuzz out of but how often do we think about the tiny bit of flesh that had to die off to form it? Our spiritual side exists even if we don't admit to it. Our spiritual side can starve.
Rom 8:5 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.
Minding things of the spirit. We can't mind things of the spirit unless we recognize the spirit has needs. We know what minding the flesh is- doing anything and everything to satisfy our desires and boy does the flesh have a lot of desires. Some of those desires we want to be satisfied once a day, others a few times a day, some once a week, or once a month it varies according to our individual desires and fleshy appetites and I'm not just talking sex here, there are many 'things of the flesh'. Given the choice of eating to satisfy a flesh hunger, or studying God's word to satisfy a spiritual hunger it's easy to believe the majority would choose to eat to satisfy a flesh hunger in part because they recognize the physical pangs of hunger much more readily than they do their spiritual hunger. As long as Satan has people disbelieving in their Spiritual need it's easy for Him to seduce them to His side without their even knowing.
How many Christmas stories do we see on television this time of year that play up the believing or disbelieving in Santa Claus? How many people secretly wish He REALLY did exist? Many of those shows satisfy that delusion just to play up that part inside of us, but we know the reality is that He doesn't exist. Those shows a lot of times give the impression if you only BELIEVE then it will be real and it's as simple as disbelieving to do away with Santa. Our spiritual lives demand belief in God who is Spirit.
Joh 4:24 God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.
We have to believe.
Heb 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.
And this is where a lot of people shrug spiritual things off as if they aren't important, as if they don't even exist. They choose not to believe. Anything that demands faith- believing without seeing is easy to simply not believe. It's much easier to believe something doesn't exist when it's unseen than to believe it does exist.
Our spirit that needs feeding goes on to starve and our lives become more and more selfish, more self-centered, more filled with whatever it is that will keep us from recognizing the spiritual side. It's not so far fetched to say that everyone has their own person demons that work in very personalized ways to keep each of us from tending to things spiritual.
Rom 8:5 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.
Help us Lord to be after the Spirit and not after the flesh. Help us to recognize that the Spirit is the part of us that connects with God- who is a Spirit. Help us to understand that we need to truly mind the things of the Spirit. As we live day to day tending to our flesh, help us to recognize that we need to tend our Spirit, feed our Spirit from Your word, in prayer, in study, in knowing that in all things God should be first and foremost.
By the mercy and grace of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ may we live in Him now and forever.
Amen.
Jas 1:21 Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls.
Lay apart… put away, cast aside. This is an action. Once again we come face to face with that old belief that you shouldn't have to do anything at all as a Christian because if you do stuff- such as putting away the filthiness in your life you are hoping that action will save you. WRONG. The people who came up with the idea that you no longer have to obey God's commandments, and you no longer have to 'sin no more', that you no longer have to 'lay apart' anything in your life, that you mustn't try at all to do anything whatsoever because then it's 'works' and not 'grace' you are living by- those people are in league with Satan.
Our Salvation is through our Savior alone. We cannot do anything aside from accept what He's done for us in order to be saved. But once we have experienced that new birth then how can we truly expect to carry on in the old man? How? How can we accept the willful sinning we live in as being acceptable to God, because our not sinning won't save us? God has never and will never accept sin. Anyone that believe God will accept sin is fooling themselves. We need to ask forgiveness for EVERY sin, not just the ones we committed before we first accepted Christ as our Savior. We need to ask for forgiveness for the first sin we commit after we've accepted Christ all the way to the last sin we commit. We will NEVER be in a position as long as we are living in a time before the second coming of our Savior, to sin willfully and neglect to beg, to plead for forgiveness from God.
We are wretched beings and only Christ can save us. As wretched beings we are immersed in a constant warfare with Satan. It is a WAR. People don't realize it, but it is. Our lives are spent in a war! A REAL war. A SPIRITUAL war. When we are tempted to sin that is the enemy warring against us. When we sin that is the enemy claiming a victory over us. When we ask for forgiveness with true repentance and sorrow for that sin we are being renewed by our Savior and declared His, not Satan's. Satan wants us on his side and he'll use any means necessary to get us there. If we live in willful sin we are Satan's. If we live in a constant battle against sins that are so easily besetting us then we are striving against sin and we are claiming Christ as the victor over those sins. If we lay down our lives and no longer strive, no longer set aside, no longer go and sin no more, no longer lay apart all filthiness then we are not living our lives as Christ would have us live them. This war is real and we have our part in it, as a soldier of Christ's we have a leader who has told us so much through His life, through His word, through the words of those guided completely by the Holy Spirit. We cannot get to a point in our lives where we NO longer desire to lay aside the besetting sins. As much pleasure as our flesh nature may receive from these besetting sins, they will NEVER be acceptable to God, never! Our flesh pleasure is not the indicator that something is good and acceptable. If this were true then all those who derive pleasure from acts we call criminal would have the right to say they are acceptable acts, good acts from the simple fact they bring them happiness and pleasure.
We are to deny ourselves-
Luk 9:23 And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.
We are to go and sin no more-
Joh 5:14 Afterward Jesus findeth him in the temple, and said unto him, Behold, thou art made whole: sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee.
Joh 8:11 She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more.
We are to lay aside every weight-
Heb 12:1 Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us
We are to lay apart all filthiness-
Jas 1:21 Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls.
We are to do this and then receive WITH meekness the engrafted word- the word of God- the words of life that will save us. Those words we receive are the words of the gospel our Savior preached to all.
By His grace may WE receive the word of God fully into our lives. May we fight in this war we are embroiled in and not surrender to Satan and his evil, deceptive ways.
Please Lord, SAVE US!
All through Your love!
Amen.