| Whatsoever
Things Are True
by Dan Coburn Pastor, Emmanuel Baptist Church pastordan@mtida.net There is no good news absent the bad news. Last week we looked at The Condemnation. We saw that hell as a consequence of sin is not something we earn by being bad enough often enough, but rather is our default mode. "Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me." Psalm 51:5 John 3:18 = "He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already; because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God." 3:36 = "He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him." Abide means remain. How can something remain unless it was already there? This is the default mode. All un-believers are headed for and even now are experiencing death or separation from God. The Cure is best summed up in Romans chapter 8. "There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus." vs 1 In the original Greek, the word "no" is better translated "no, not any, nor can there ever be". The term "in Christ" is found no less than 164 times in the writings of Paul, and is well illustrated in the first book of the Bible, in the account of Noah's Ark. The Ark was an escape from the divine wrath God provided. It was the prescribed remedy for the judgment on all who did not trust Him. "Then the Lord said to Noah, come into the ark, you and all your household because I have seen that you are righteous before me in this generation." Gen. 7:1 Likewise, In Christ you have been called by God. Here is the coolest part. The verb "pitch" in Gen. 6:14 is the Hebrew word - kaphar - and it means to cover, to pacify, to make propitiation, to appease, to atone or atoned. Can we stop here? 7:16 is complete security from judgment; "and the Lord shut him in". Likewise, we who have placed our trust in God and His prescribed remedy for our depravity which is Jesus Christ, have been completely delivered from the condemnation. The old man (in Adam) is dead, but not the sin nature. That, we will war with till we die - "he that is dead is freed from sin" Romans 6:7 A mentor of mine uses this illustration. The law of "sin and death" is like gravity. It is all around us, and is at work all of the time. The law of the Spirit of Life is like the law of aerodynamics. Applied correctly, with the right speed and attitude, it will overcome gravity. Gravity is still present and powerful, but cannot overcome the plane when it functions correctly. This is great as long as you don't decide to jump out of the plane, or operate it wrongly. But when we listen to the devil, he tells us we can fly w/out the plane. This is why we must die to self daily. Be a living sacrifice. And don't fall into the trap of thinking you have it whipped, or under control. Gravity is always working. Spiritual Switch. A preacher once drove by a lawnmower with a for sale sign on it. He stopped to look at it, and the attending little boy told him: "It will cost you $20". The preacher replied: "I'll have to see if it will start first". He pulled and pulled and pulled till the boy offered: "it works better if you cuss at it". The preacher bragged: "Son I have been a preacher for over 25 years. I'm not even satisfied I remember how to cuss". "Just keep pullin" the boy replied: "It'll come back to you". God Bless |
 |