 The Nitelite
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The Nitelite
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| Last time we spoke, I said Christ was presented as the unblemished lamb of God. What does that mean and what is the importance of it? |
| It would be wonderful if all I had to say was, Christ Jesus was and is the Savior of the world. If I had only to quote John 3:16 and say it's as simple as that. Truly, John 3:16 is correct and yes it is as simple as that, yet, there is also a little more to it. I know, how come, right. Well, bear with me. |
| Man in his infinite wisdom has managed, as usual, to make things much harder than they really are. Because of man's disbelief or the many variations as to what this or that means, presented by an array of religious beliefs; we must stop and take things step by step. Remember, God expects you to be accountable for you and yours in some cases. We discussed this before when we said, A workman unashamed, rightly dividing the Word of truth. |
| Before going on, I wish to mention briefly the meaning of eternal life. Life as we know it in the finite state, terminates at death. But eternal life when spoken of in scripture is not just talking about our spirit existence, rather the conditions in which that spirit shall live. The spirit of those who die without salvation will still exist, so when we read eternal life, we are talking about our spirit being in God's grace and we in His Kingdom |
| In the Book of Genesis, we read the story of Adam and Eve. If you're one of those who think this is just a story to make an illustration, you're wrong. Through history, religion has for the most part, considered the story of Adam to be a detailed description of the creation of man. In other words, a continuum of Chapter One, The Creation, only in Chapter Two, the focus is on man. At some point, we will discuss this in depth. For now, it is enough to say that Adam sinned, which as you recall, means committed or omitted an act prohibited or commanded by God. |
| God had forewarned Adam of the consequences of disobedience. Adam, knowing the penalty and knowing the law, of his own free will and accord violated that law. When Adam did this he put God in a very difficult position. You see God didn't stop loving Adam, God didn't want to punish Adam. |
| God, because He is who He is, had to follow through with what He said. This is something we who are parents might remember. God is always true to His word. That is why we can believe Him, this is why we can trust Him. God had said, of the day he, Adam, ate of the fruit of the tree, he would surely die. Now we know Adam didn't die, in the finite state. God then must of been talking about another death. If he, Adam had not eaten of the fruit, in the finite sense, would he have ever died? Nothing I know of, tells us. What we do know is his spirit became subject to death, meaning the opposite of eternal life, which we already touched on. |
| Man sure has a way about him. Let's not be too hard on Adam, personally I think he must of been a little touched. I mean he actually knew God in a very real sense. You would think being in the position he was in.. Oh well, the rest of us haven't exactly been God's role models, have we. I wonder why that is. Perhaps we might find the answer to that down the road, when we discuss.. well, let's just hold off on that for now. |
| So now what. Man had put himself in a very bad position. He has not only lost his chance for Eternal Life, but has had his finite life complicated. No longer was he fully under God's care. You can read Genesis Two if you don't know what I mean. What about God. Didn't I say God didn't want to punish man, didn't want to see him lost forever. |
| God has his ways. You see, man was now helpless. He had, one could say, fell from God's Grace. We mentioned this before, but for those who might of missed that study, we said earlier that, Mercy is when we don't receive that which we deserve, Grace we said, was when we receive that which we don't deserve. |
| Think now if you would, the position God is in. He wants to save man. He wants man to be able to enter His Kingdom. Yet, He is also righteous. He had placed a price to pay, once He did this and once man broke the rule, then the price must be paid. I think all of us can understand that even in our daily living there is a price to pay, no matter how sorry we may be for what we did or didn't do. |
| At this point we must stray a little. I always hate doing this, but the reason I do, is to try to answer along the way some questions some may have which could interfere with them understanding the subject. |
| God created man, not just some men. God loves you. He loves you no matter your race, your nationality or your gender. When God created man, there were no organized religions. So being of a certain religion in and of itself makes you no better off than someone else. It is your personal belief, your actions and your individual relationship with God that matters. |
| In the old Testament we read about God's people. We read about Abraham and his relationship with God. Hey, you know what, I can see where this is going to get deeper and deeper and is best left for a subject within itself. The point I want to make for now is this. Because we read of God's chosen people does not mean God had forsaken all others. |
| God's, relationship with the Nation of Israel points out certain thing we need to understand. He had selected a group of people to whom He gave special attention, in this sense. He gave them rules to govern their behavior, as He did Adam. He gave them spiritual leaders, to remind them of these rules and help them through tribulations. He gave them favor over any enemy that came against them. He gave them a means of atonement for their transgressions. |
| Many people out there would devoid God of any emotional feelings or reactions, yet the Bible itself clearly indicates this is not so. Does not the first commandment itself say, For I am a jealous God. From all the special treatment Israel received, we see one thing clear. Man knowing the rules, would still break them. Man, having spiritual guidance, would still stray. Man, given a means of atonement for certain acts, did nothing to prevent him from continuing in his sin. He atoned for his sin and continued to sin and atone and sin and atone. |
| Am I saying man shouldn't repent for his sin, of course not. What I am saying is this. If God wanted to save man, in spite of himself, He would have to have a way which accomplished the following. He, God, would have to retain his righteousness. His word must stand forever settled in the heavens. There is a price to be paid. He had to find a way to make man justified, and do this in a way and manner that would justify him forever. |
| God's solution for all this, the how and why will continue in our next study. Till then.. |
God Loves You.
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