Does your church preach and teach that all your sins can be conquered through the power of the Holy Spirit working in you, or does your church preach and teach that we will never be free from the bondage of our sins.
The message of life - When we are truly set free from our sinful nature and are given Jesus’ nature, we will no longer have a nature to sin and won’t. This is what being born again means – we are born again into Jesus’ nature and accepted into God’s eternal righteous kingdom. We are able to enter God’s kingdom because we are not just washed on the outside with Jesus’ righteousness, but when born again we are also cleansed spiritually and given a new heart filled with only God’s love, which is God’s nature. When born again we are given a pure heart and made righteous through and through by Jesus’ Spirit which lives inside us. This is what Jesus meant by having life. Anything short of this results in eternal death and separation from God in hell because only pure hearts and pure righteousness enter His eternal kingdom. Does your church teach this message of life?
The message of death - Many are teaching that we can never be free from our bondage of sin and will always sin as long as we live on this earth. If this is the case, why did Jesus even come? If we still have to stay in bondage to our sin, then we are no better off then the Jews before Jesus came and died on the cross. If there is no power in Jesus’ Spirit that comes into us when we are born again, why would God even bother to send the Holy Spirit if it had no power to conquer all sin in our life? Since we can’t enter God’s eternal heavenly kingdom unless we are spotless of any sinful nature, what is the sanctification by the Spirit all for if we will never be made spotless with out any sin? Some people believe we are made perfect after we die; there is nothing in the Bible that supports this. We are only given new spiritual shells for our soul to be in. If our soul is still sinful, even if we get a new spiritual body our sinful soul makes the whole spiritual soul and body unclean and sinful. The only reason this theology exists is because people want to believe it. It is not biblical and has been reasoned out by man to allow people to keep on sinning and also think they are saved unto eternal life. This theology is of the devil and the results are no re-born experience for who ever believes it. Anyone not born of God will not have eternal life. Does your church teach this message of death?
Michael Reid
Showing posts with label set free from sin. Show all posts
Showing posts with label set free from sin. Show all posts
Thursday, April 10, 2008
What is a real Christian
I want to bring this topic to the forefront to hopefully enlighten all who read this message to what the Bible says a real Christian is or isn’t. For many years I had the understanding that I was a Christian, but my life’s priorities and struggles were telling my heart otherwise.
The Zondervan Bible Dictionary says the word Christian comes directly from the Greek word Χριστίανος (Christianos). The Latin suffix “ianos” on this word was widely used throughout the Roman Empire of that time to designate a slave to the person’s name it was compounded onto (to designate an owner’s slave). What this says to us is that during the time of the apostles, to be called a Christian was to be understood that you were a slave to Christ.
Romans 6:22 NIV says “But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life.”
1 Peter 2:16 NIV says “Live as free men, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as servants of God.”
Eph 6:5-8 NIV says “Slaves, obey your earthly masters with respect and fear, and with sincerity of heart, just as you would obey Christ. Obey them not only to win their favor when their eye is on you, but like slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from your heart. Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not men, because you know that the Lord will reward everyone for whatever good he does, whether he is slave or free.”
The apostles wrote of themselves as servants (slaves) of Christ. In their letters they indicated for us to follow their example. In doing so we would become faithful to Christ, totally submissive to His Lordship, and totally trusting in His Spirit for guidance and our every need.
Romans 1:1 NKJV says “Paul, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated to the gospel of God.”
James 1:1 NKJV says “James, a bondservant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ”
2 Peter 1:1 NKJV says “Simon Peter, a bondservant and apostle of Jesus Christ. To those who have obtained like precious faith with us by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ”
There are many, many more scriptures throughout the Bible indicating God is calling us to be totally committed servants (slaves) of Christ. There are other words the Bible uses to describe a real Christian; one is to be called a disciple. There are requirements to being called a disciple also.
Luke 14:26-27 NLT says “If you want to be my disciple, you must hate everyone else by comparison—your father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even your own life. Otherwise, you cannot be my disciple. And if you do not carry your own cross and follow me, you cannot be my disciple.”
Luke 14:33 NIV says “In the same way, any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple.”
Somehow in this age we live in, we have simplified and degraded what being a Christian is. The current understanding of a Christian has been simplified to a person who only needs to understand their salvation is based on believing that Jesus died on the cross for his sins, and that Jesus was bodily resurrected. The devil understands and believes this also and he wants people to keep believing this. The devil doesn’t want people to look past this simplified deceptive concept. The devil knows total submission and obedience to our God is also required. The devil would rather keep people dependent on themselves or things. If anyone trusts their salvation only on this simplified concept, they might have a rude awakening at their judgment before Jesus Christ.
A real biblical based Christian is a person believing, trusting, and loving Jesus with all their heart, soul, and mind. A true Christian will not allow themselves to be entangled with any of the worldly pleasures of this world. For they know to be a friend to the world is to be an enemy of God. Christians enjoy the blessing of their needs being met, but know that if they receive their enjoyment from worldly pleasures instead of God’s grace, they are in a sinful state. A true Christian will be living his life is such a way that every thought, decision, and action he does should be to the glory of God.
What determines whether a person is a true Christian is really a matter of the heart. To become a true Christian a person must accept wholeheartedly Jesus as his/her Lord and Savior. If anyone accepts Jesus less than wholeheartedly, that person can still rejoice because Christ’s seed has been planted and is growing in them, but that seed has not matured and they are not yet a true biblical based Christian. To be a true Christian one must accept Jesus as his/her Lord. This means a person must make a decision to submit all of their self as a living sacrifice to God. This is a total submission to His authority and rule over you. This submission cannot be partial. A person cannot submit part of their life to Him and want to keep other parts under their control. He wants all of you. God is still a jealous God. Jesus said “If you love me, you will keep my commandments”. Jesus demands us to give all of ourselves to Him with what Jesus calls the first and greatest commandment:
Matt 22:37-38 NIV says “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment”
It is only after we do the first and greatest commandment that we can produce any good and Godly fruit by doing the second commandment Jesus gave:
Matt 22:39-40 NIV says “And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments."
When we first truly accept Jesus as Lord and Savior with our whole heart, we will probably not be able to automatically do everything we have committed ourselves to do in Christ. This is where the Holy Spirit continues the sanctification process in us. The Spirit will continue to renew our minds to control our bodies to become more like Christ in increasing measure as time goes forward. We must look to the Spirit to finish the purification process and do all the Godly works through us. We have no power to do anything apart from the Spirit of God. If we are a true Christian, the process of learning to crawl, walk, and run in the Spirit can happen fairly fast since a true Christian’s heart is not restrictive to the work of the Spirit.
I would like to take this time to tell some of my personal story. What I mainly want to share with all of you is that over 25 years from the beginning of my walk with God, I was only giving parts of myself to God. I didn't have enough faith to give all of me. My faith had to be built up at each phase to allow myself to give more of myself to Jesus. To make a long story short, through those 25 years I sliced off more of my life and gave it to God, slice by slice as time went on. At the end of the 25 years, when I had sliced off the last of my heart and soul and gave it to God, He did a miracle in my life. I now understand that at that point He baptized me with the Holy Spirit to make me ready for service to His Kingdom. At that point, I was no longer looking out for my own selfish needs, but for the needs of others. God was able to flip my heart’s desires from selfishness to truly loving others with not my love, but with God's love flowing through me. Since then God has enlightened me with His truth through His word and Spirit. So much so that I cannot hold it in, but have to share it with anyone willing to listen.
May God bless you through the truth.
God’s servant - Michael Reid
The Zondervan Bible Dictionary says the word Christian comes directly from the Greek word Χριστίανος (Christianos). The Latin suffix “ianos” on this word was widely used throughout the Roman Empire of that time to designate a slave to the person’s name it was compounded onto (to designate an owner’s slave). What this says to us is that during the time of the apostles, to be called a Christian was to be understood that you were a slave to Christ.
Romans 6:22 NIV says “But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life.”
1 Peter 2:16 NIV says “Live as free men, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as servants of God.”
Eph 6:5-8 NIV says “Slaves, obey your earthly masters with respect and fear, and with sincerity of heart, just as you would obey Christ. Obey them not only to win their favor when their eye is on you, but like slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from your heart. Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not men, because you know that the Lord will reward everyone for whatever good he does, whether he is slave or free.”
The apostles wrote of themselves as servants (slaves) of Christ. In their letters they indicated for us to follow their example. In doing so we would become faithful to Christ, totally submissive to His Lordship, and totally trusting in His Spirit for guidance and our every need.
Romans 1:1 NKJV says “Paul, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated to the gospel of God.”
James 1:1 NKJV says “James, a bondservant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ”
2 Peter 1:1 NKJV says “Simon Peter, a bondservant and apostle of Jesus Christ. To those who have obtained like precious faith with us by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ”
There are many, many more scriptures throughout the Bible indicating God is calling us to be totally committed servants (slaves) of Christ. There are other words the Bible uses to describe a real Christian; one is to be called a disciple. There are requirements to being called a disciple also.
Luke 14:26-27 NLT says “If you want to be my disciple, you must hate everyone else by comparison—your father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even your own life. Otherwise, you cannot be my disciple. And if you do not carry your own cross and follow me, you cannot be my disciple.”
Luke 14:33 NIV says “In the same way, any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple.”
Somehow in this age we live in, we have simplified and degraded what being a Christian is. The current understanding of a Christian has been simplified to a person who only needs to understand their salvation is based on believing that Jesus died on the cross for his sins, and that Jesus was bodily resurrected. The devil understands and believes this also and he wants people to keep believing this. The devil doesn’t want people to look past this simplified deceptive concept. The devil knows total submission and obedience to our God is also required. The devil would rather keep people dependent on themselves or things. If anyone trusts their salvation only on this simplified concept, they might have a rude awakening at their judgment before Jesus Christ.
A real biblical based Christian is a person believing, trusting, and loving Jesus with all their heart, soul, and mind. A true Christian will not allow themselves to be entangled with any of the worldly pleasures of this world. For they know to be a friend to the world is to be an enemy of God. Christians enjoy the blessing of their needs being met, but know that if they receive their enjoyment from worldly pleasures instead of God’s grace, they are in a sinful state. A true Christian will be living his life is such a way that every thought, decision, and action he does should be to the glory of God.
What determines whether a person is a true Christian is really a matter of the heart. To become a true Christian a person must accept wholeheartedly Jesus as his/her Lord and Savior. If anyone accepts Jesus less than wholeheartedly, that person can still rejoice because Christ’s seed has been planted and is growing in them, but that seed has not matured and they are not yet a true biblical based Christian. To be a true Christian one must accept Jesus as his/her Lord. This means a person must make a decision to submit all of their self as a living sacrifice to God. This is a total submission to His authority and rule over you. This submission cannot be partial. A person cannot submit part of their life to Him and want to keep other parts under their control. He wants all of you. God is still a jealous God. Jesus said “If you love me, you will keep my commandments”. Jesus demands us to give all of ourselves to Him with what Jesus calls the first and greatest commandment:
Matt 22:37-38 NIV says “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment”
It is only after we do the first and greatest commandment that we can produce any good and Godly fruit by doing the second commandment Jesus gave:
Matt 22:39-40 NIV says “And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments."
When we first truly accept Jesus as Lord and Savior with our whole heart, we will probably not be able to automatically do everything we have committed ourselves to do in Christ. This is where the Holy Spirit continues the sanctification process in us. The Spirit will continue to renew our minds to control our bodies to become more like Christ in increasing measure as time goes forward. We must look to the Spirit to finish the purification process and do all the Godly works through us. We have no power to do anything apart from the Spirit of God. If we are a true Christian, the process of learning to crawl, walk, and run in the Spirit can happen fairly fast since a true Christian’s heart is not restrictive to the work of the Spirit.
I would like to take this time to tell some of my personal story. What I mainly want to share with all of you is that over 25 years from the beginning of my walk with God, I was only giving parts of myself to God. I didn't have enough faith to give all of me. My faith had to be built up at each phase to allow myself to give more of myself to Jesus. To make a long story short, through those 25 years I sliced off more of my life and gave it to God, slice by slice as time went on. At the end of the 25 years, when I had sliced off the last of my heart and soul and gave it to God, He did a miracle in my life. I now understand that at that point He baptized me with the Holy Spirit to make me ready for service to His Kingdom. At that point, I was no longer looking out for my own selfish needs, but for the needs of others. God was able to flip my heart’s desires from selfishness to truly loving others with not my love, but with God's love flowing through me. Since then God has enlightened me with His truth through His word and Spirit. So much so that I cannot hold it in, but have to share it with anyone willing to listen.
May God bless you through the truth.
God’s servant - Michael Reid
What Have You Done With Your Talent or Gift
When anyone first comes to Christ for salvation we are given a gift from God. That gift is the gift of salvation from the bondage of our sins, which means we no longer have to be in bondage to our sinful nature. This is the first salvation God gives us, but the second salvation unto eternal life is determined by what we do with this first salvation. We can see this clearly in the story of Israel’s exodus out of Egypt. God saved them from their bondage of Egyptian slavery so they could once again have the choice to follow God’s will and ways. Sadly only two of the adults that were saved from the Egyptian slavery decided to live totally for God and were then allowed to enter the promise land.
We who have accepted Jesus Christ as our savior recognize that we have been imputed with Jesus’ righteousness. Through what Jesus Christ did on the cross for us, we now can put on the cloak of His righteousness. We are whitewashed on the outside with His righteousness, which means God has put His righteousness onto us so through Jesus Christ being our High Priest we can eventually be washed white on the inside as well. God freely gives this gift of His righteousness to anyone that repents and asks for it. God gives this gift freely so He can work through us, otherwise there would be no way for us to be free from our sinful nature. The parable of the talents is a good representation of this gift given by God and if used for God, He multiplies the gift and makes the gift grow, but if not used for God, the gift is taken away.
Matt 25:14-30 - Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his property to them. To one he gave five talents of money, to another two talents, and to another one talent, each according to his ability. Then he went on his journey. The man who had received the five talents went at once and put his money to work and gained five more. So also, the one with the two talents gained two more. But the man who had received the one talent went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master's money.
After a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them. The man who had received the five talents brought the other five. 'Master,' he said, 'you entrusted me with five talents. See, I have gained five more.' "His master replied, 'Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!' "The man with the two talents also came. 'Master,' he said, 'you entrusted me with two talents; see, I have gained two more.' "His master replied, 'Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!' "Then the man who had received the one talent came. 'Master,' he said, 'I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed. So I was afraid and went out and hid your talent in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.' "His master replied, 'You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed? Well then, you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest. "'Take the talent from him and give it to the one who has the ten talents. For everyone who has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him. And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.'
Please understand why this parable’s truth is so important; it is to warn all of you that have been given the first gift of salvation from the bondage of our sins so you will be motivated to reach the second salvation gift unto eternal life.
The talent(s) in the parable represent this first gift of salvation, but the second gift of salvation unto eternal life is determined on how you use the first gift from God. To use this first gift properly that God gives us, we must at some point decide to die to all our sinful nature to receive the permanent gift. Anyone that is unwilling to die totally to themselves will not be able to be washed totally white on the inside.
Like I said before, when we first come to Christ we are imputed with Jesus Christ’s righteousness, but eventually we must also be imparted with the very nature of Jesus Christ Spirit. When we are imputed with Christ’s righteousness we are whitewashed on the outside, but we must be imparted with Christ’s righteousness within also to be washed white to be eternally saved.
After we first have come to Christ as our savior for the forgiveness of our sins we are imputed with Christ’s righteousness and also receive Jesus Christ as our High Priest. We then can be covered by His cloak of righteousness until we physically die, but we only have this righteous covering of Christ as long as He is our High Priest. When we physically die we no longer have Jesus Christ as our High Priest and we are no longer covered by His cloak of righteousness. After we physically die the cloak of Christ’s righteousness comes off and God then sees our bare soul. If our bare soul has been thoroughly washed white by this time, we will enter heaven, but if our bare soul is still soiled with our sinful nature, we will not be allowed into God’s eternal kingdom where no evil and sinful thing can enter.
Truly I tell you this because this is God’s truth and God doesn’t want any to be lost. Please be wise with what God has given you. God wants you to keep the gifts He has given you, but this choice has to be your choice.
Sent from Jesus Christ’s heart within me,
Michael Reid
We who have accepted Jesus Christ as our savior recognize that we have been imputed with Jesus’ righteousness. Through what Jesus Christ did on the cross for us, we now can put on the cloak of His righteousness. We are whitewashed on the outside with His righteousness, which means God has put His righteousness onto us so through Jesus Christ being our High Priest we can eventually be washed white on the inside as well. God freely gives this gift of His righteousness to anyone that repents and asks for it. God gives this gift freely so He can work through us, otherwise there would be no way for us to be free from our sinful nature. The parable of the talents is a good representation of this gift given by God and if used for God, He multiplies the gift and makes the gift grow, but if not used for God, the gift is taken away.
Matt 25:14-30 - Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his property to them. To one he gave five talents of money, to another two talents, and to another one talent, each according to his ability. Then he went on his journey. The man who had received the five talents went at once and put his money to work and gained five more. So also, the one with the two talents gained two more. But the man who had received the one talent went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master's money.
After a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them. The man who had received the five talents brought the other five. 'Master,' he said, 'you entrusted me with five talents. See, I have gained five more.' "His master replied, 'Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!' "The man with the two talents also came. 'Master,' he said, 'you entrusted me with two talents; see, I have gained two more.' "His master replied, 'Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!' "Then the man who had received the one talent came. 'Master,' he said, 'I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed. So I was afraid and went out and hid your talent in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.' "His master replied, 'You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed? Well then, you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest. "'Take the talent from him and give it to the one who has the ten talents. For everyone who has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him. And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.'
Please understand why this parable’s truth is so important; it is to warn all of you that have been given the first gift of salvation from the bondage of our sins so you will be motivated to reach the second salvation gift unto eternal life.
The talent(s) in the parable represent this first gift of salvation, but the second gift of salvation unto eternal life is determined on how you use the first gift from God. To use this first gift properly that God gives us, we must at some point decide to die to all our sinful nature to receive the permanent gift. Anyone that is unwilling to die totally to themselves will not be able to be washed totally white on the inside.
Like I said before, when we first come to Christ we are imputed with Jesus Christ’s righteousness, but eventually we must also be imparted with the very nature of Jesus Christ Spirit. When we are imputed with Christ’s righteousness we are whitewashed on the outside, but we must be imparted with Christ’s righteousness within also to be washed white to be eternally saved.
After we first have come to Christ as our savior for the forgiveness of our sins we are imputed with Christ’s righteousness and also receive Jesus Christ as our High Priest. We then can be covered by His cloak of righteousness until we physically die, but we only have this righteous covering of Christ as long as He is our High Priest. When we physically die we no longer have Jesus Christ as our High Priest and we are no longer covered by His cloak of righteousness. After we physically die the cloak of Christ’s righteousness comes off and God then sees our bare soul. If our bare soul has been thoroughly washed white by this time, we will enter heaven, but if our bare soul is still soiled with our sinful nature, we will not be allowed into God’s eternal kingdom where no evil and sinful thing can enter.
Truly I tell you this because this is God’s truth and God doesn’t want any to be lost. Please be wise with what God has given you. God wants you to keep the gifts He has given you, but this choice has to be your choice.
Sent from Jesus Christ’s heart within me,
Michael Reid
The Salvation Story Told From The Old Testament
The story of the exodus to the new Promised Land is a good representation of the salvation process that happens in the New Testament. It is amazing how much the Old Testament is a foreshadowing of the New Testament. It all goes to show that God is always the same.
We can see this story in two different ways. We could examine individuals in this exodus to the new Promised Land process, and we would see how only a few people that actually started the journey actually made it to the promise land, but I want to show you this journey in a different way. I want to take the whole nation of Israel and how Israel as a nation represents the salvation process that happens in us individually under the new covenant. All the things that the nation of Israel went through is what most of us as believers under the new covenant go through during our process of coming to faith in Jesus Christ in order to be born again of God. The start of the exodus of Israel from Egypt represents the start of our salvation process and Israel entering the promise land represents our salvation process being completed by being born again into God’s kingdom.
Let’s start out with the exodus story. Before the exodus started the nation of Israel were captive and slaves to the Egyptian Empire. This captivity of Israel represents our captivity and slavery to our own sinful nature. Just like the people of Israel could not escape from the pharaoh’s grip without God intervening, we also cannot escape the grip and slavery of our sinful nature without God intervening on our behalf.
It was at the point when God made Egypt let His people go that Israel was released from her bondage of slavery. God had saved them from this bondage of slavery and now they had a choice to leave the tyranny over them. Israel was now free to worship and serve God. Just like God saved Israel from her bondage, God has sent Jesus to free us from our bondage of our sinful nature. When we start believing in Jesus Christ, God sends His Spirit into us to free us from our bondage. He saves us from our own nature. Just like the nation of Israel, we too are now free to worship and serve God. Just like Israel was very happy to be free, it is also at this point we feel God’s Spirit working in us and lifting our sin and guilt from us. This releasing of the guilt of sin makes us feel alive again, but this good feeling usually only lasts until the pressure of sin starts grabbing at us again. So far in this process we are not yet saved onto eternal life. We are only free to make the choices to become born again at this point.
Fast forwarding a little bit, we see the nation of Israel trapped between the red sea and pharaoh’s army. With pharaoh’s army pressing in on them they start doubting God. Even after all the great signs He had already done, they were wanting to go back to slavery.
Ex 14:11-12 - They said to Moses, "Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought us to the desert to die? What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt? Didn't we say to you in Egypt, 'Leave us alone; let us serve the Egyptians'? It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert!"
The nation of Israel already wanted to go back to their bondage instead being free. They were people that had no faith in their God. We too as new believers return back to our sinful ways because we don’t have enough faith in God. Well, even though Israel was not faithful, God was. He parted the sea and Israel traveled on dry ground to the other side and then God was glorified by drowning the pharaoh’s army.
After about one and a half months the people of Israel said: Ex 16:3 - If only we had died by the Lord's hand in Egypt! There we sat around pots of meat and ate all the food we wanted, but you have brought us out into this desert to starve this entire assembly to death.
Again Israel could only think out of their own selfishness, they were not interested in glorifying God, they only cared for themselves. Just like Israel, we as believers that have not been completed in God’s love, are still selfish, we are not yet relying just on God’s provisions, we are still trying to satisfy our selfish nature.
Moving forward in this process, we come to the point where Moses was taking a long time to come down from the mountain. When Moses finally comes down he sees that Israel had corrupted them selves by going back to their old ways they had learned in Egypt. They had made a golden calf as an idol that they could worship. This is a representation of a believer being pushed or tempted back into the ways of the world. The believer wants to give in to the pressure out of lack of knowledge of God and out of selfishness to return to what is known and comfortable.
Ex 32:35 - And the Lord struck the people with a plague because of what they did with the calf Aaron had made.
The verse above represents God’s punishment and cleansing of sinful ways upon the Israel people. God also punishes us as believers out of love for us. When He does this punishment on us, it will either work out cleansing in our heart or harden our hearts away from God. Remember we are now saved from the bondage of sin; we now have a choice to continue with God or go our own way.
Let’s fast forward to Moses sending the spies into the promise land. The spies went into the promise land and verified it was a land of milk and honey. Just like the nation of Israel was able to have a glimpse of the promise land before they entered it, we too in our individual salvation walk will get glimpses of God’s kingdom through His Word and His Spirit. But just like the nation of Israel having many spies that saw the same things, there were only two that were willing to give of them selves fully to fight with God to acquire the promise of God. We too in our walk with God still have parts of us that are and aren’t willing to give in to total obedience of our whole self to God’s will. Often there are parts of our life we are willing to give over to God, just like the two faithful spies of Israel, but we usually also have many areas of our life we are not yet willing to give over to God.
After the spies came back from the land of milk and honey that God wanted to give to them, most of the spies convinced the people of Israel that it was to dangerous. This is what the people of Israel said:
Num 14:2-4 - If only we had died in the land of Egypt! Or if only we had died in this wilderness! Why has the Lord brought us to this land to fall by the sword, that our wives and children should become victims? Would it not be better for us to return to Egypt?" So they said to one another,” Let us select a leader and return to Egypt."
Again, even after all the great miracles that God did for them and within their sight, the people of Israel did not believe that God would do most of the work of conquering the land for them. Only Joshua and Caleb had faith in God.
Num 14:11-12 - Then the Lord said to Moses: "How long will these people reject Me? And how long will they not believe Me, with all the signs which I have performed among them? I will strike them with the pestilence and disinherit them, and I will make of you a nation greater and mightier than they."
Since the rest of the Israel people did not have faith in God and were only reasoning out that they could not fight these giants on their own, God sent Israel back into the desert for 40 years until all the unbelieving people of Israel had been cleansed out (died off). After the 40 years of the purging of unbelief was done, God let Israel come into the promise land.
Num 14:30-32 - Except for Caleb the son of Jephunneh and Joshua the son of Nun, you shall by no means enter the land which I swore I would make you dwell in. But your little ones, whom you said would be victims, I will bring in, and they shall know the land which you have despised. But as for you, your carcasses shall fall in this wilderness.
What happened to Israel is what happens spiritually to a believer under the new covenant. All unbelief must be cleansed out of a believer to come to full faith in Jesus Christ. When full faith in Jesus Christ has been attained by the working of God’s Spirit upon our soul, we are then born again of God which gives us access into His eternal kingdom.
The timing of how long this process takes depends on how open a person is to the changes that needs to take place by God. If a person will humble them selves, God will lift up that person. If a person wants to stay in control and be prideful, God will have to wait for that person to be humbled before He can work with that person. Again, Jesus has saved all believers from bondage so he/she can now make their choice to fully serve God or not. The people of Israel were not willing to give their life to take the promise land, but after the 40 years of roaming around in the desert they became willing. We must also come to the point in our belief that we are willing to give our life to receive His promises for us, which is being born again into God’s eternal kingdom.
From God – through me – to you,
Mike Reid
We can see this story in two different ways. We could examine individuals in this exodus to the new Promised Land process, and we would see how only a few people that actually started the journey actually made it to the promise land, but I want to show you this journey in a different way. I want to take the whole nation of Israel and how Israel as a nation represents the salvation process that happens in us individually under the new covenant. All the things that the nation of Israel went through is what most of us as believers under the new covenant go through during our process of coming to faith in Jesus Christ in order to be born again of God. The start of the exodus of Israel from Egypt represents the start of our salvation process and Israel entering the promise land represents our salvation process being completed by being born again into God’s kingdom.
Let’s start out with the exodus story. Before the exodus started the nation of Israel were captive and slaves to the Egyptian Empire. This captivity of Israel represents our captivity and slavery to our own sinful nature. Just like the people of Israel could not escape from the pharaoh’s grip without God intervening, we also cannot escape the grip and slavery of our sinful nature without God intervening on our behalf.
It was at the point when God made Egypt let His people go that Israel was released from her bondage of slavery. God had saved them from this bondage of slavery and now they had a choice to leave the tyranny over them. Israel was now free to worship and serve God. Just like God saved Israel from her bondage, God has sent Jesus to free us from our bondage of our sinful nature. When we start believing in Jesus Christ, God sends His Spirit into us to free us from our bondage. He saves us from our own nature. Just like the nation of Israel, we too are now free to worship and serve God. Just like Israel was very happy to be free, it is also at this point we feel God’s Spirit working in us and lifting our sin and guilt from us. This releasing of the guilt of sin makes us feel alive again, but this good feeling usually only lasts until the pressure of sin starts grabbing at us again. So far in this process we are not yet saved onto eternal life. We are only free to make the choices to become born again at this point.
Fast forwarding a little bit, we see the nation of Israel trapped between the red sea and pharaoh’s army. With pharaoh’s army pressing in on them they start doubting God. Even after all the great signs He had already done, they were wanting to go back to slavery.
Ex 14:11-12 - They said to Moses, "Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought us to the desert to die? What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt? Didn't we say to you in Egypt, 'Leave us alone; let us serve the Egyptians'? It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert!"
The nation of Israel already wanted to go back to their bondage instead being free. They were people that had no faith in their God. We too as new believers return back to our sinful ways because we don’t have enough faith in God. Well, even though Israel was not faithful, God was. He parted the sea and Israel traveled on dry ground to the other side and then God was glorified by drowning the pharaoh’s army.
After about one and a half months the people of Israel said: Ex 16:3 - If only we had died by the Lord's hand in Egypt! There we sat around pots of meat and ate all the food we wanted, but you have brought us out into this desert to starve this entire assembly to death.
Again Israel could only think out of their own selfishness, they were not interested in glorifying God, they only cared for themselves. Just like Israel, we as believers that have not been completed in God’s love, are still selfish, we are not yet relying just on God’s provisions, we are still trying to satisfy our selfish nature.
Moving forward in this process, we come to the point where Moses was taking a long time to come down from the mountain. When Moses finally comes down he sees that Israel had corrupted them selves by going back to their old ways they had learned in Egypt. They had made a golden calf as an idol that they could worship. This is a representation of a believer being pushed or tempted back into the ways of the world. The believer wants to give in to the pressure out of lack of knowledge of God and out of selfishness to return to what is known and comfortable.
Ex 32:35 - And the Lord struck the people with a plague because of what they did with the calf Aaron had made.
The verse above represents God’s punishment and cleansing of sinful ways upon the Israel people. God also punishes us as believers out of love for us. When He does this punishment on us, it will either work out cleansing in our heart or harden our hearts away from God. Remember we are now saved from the bondage of sin; we now have a choice to continue with God or go our own way.
Let’s fast forward to Moses sending the spies into the promise land. The spies went into the promise land and verified it was a land of milk and honey. Just like the nation of Israel was able to have a glimpse of the promise land before they entered it, we too in our individual salvation walk will get glimpses of God’s kingdom through His Word and His Spirit. But just like the nation of Israel having many spies that saw the same things, there were only two that were willing to give of them selves fully to fight with God to acquire the promise of God. We too in our walk with God still have parts of us that are and aren’t willing to give in to total obedience of our whole self to God’s will. Often there are parts of our life we are willing to give over to God, just like the two faithful spies of Israel, but we usually also have many areas of our life we are not yet willing to give over to God.
After the spies came back from the land of milk and honey that God wanted to give to them, most of the spies convinced the people of Israel that it was to dangerous. This is what the people of Israel said:
Num 14:2-4 - If only we had died in the land of Egypt! Or if only we had died in this wilderness! Why has the Lord brought us to this land to fall by the sword, that our wives and children should become victims? Would it not be better for us to return to Egypt?" So they said to one another,” Let us select a leader and return to Egypt."
Again, even after all the great miracles that God did for them and within their sight, the people of Israel did not believe that God would do most of the work of conquering the land for them. Only Joshua and Caleb had faith in God.
Num 14:11-12 - Then the Lord said to Moses: "How long will these people reject Me? And how long will they not believe Me, with all the signs which I have performed among them? I will strike them with the pestilence and disinherit them, and I will make of you a nation greater and mightier than they."
Since the rest of the Israel people did not have faith in God and were only reasoning out that they could not fight these giants on their own, God sent Israel back into the desert for 40 years until all the unbelieving people of Israel had been cleansed out (died off). After the 40 years of the purging of unbelief was done, God let Israel come into the promise land.
Num 14:30-32 - Except for Caleb the son of Jephunneh and Joshua the son of Nun, you shall by no means enter the land which I swore I would make you dwell in. But your little ones, whom you said would be victims, I will bring in, and they shall know the land which you have despised. But as for you, your carcasses shall fall in this wilderness.
What happened to Israel is what happens spiritually to a believer under the new covenant. All unbelief must be cleansed out of a believer to come to full faith in Jesus Christ. When full faith in Jesus Christ has been attained by the working of God’s Spirit upon our soul, we are then born again of God which gives us access into His eternal kingdom.
The timing of how long this process takes depends on how open a person is to the changes that needs to take place by God. If a person will humble them selves, God will lift up that person. If a person wants to stay in control and be prideful, God will have to wait for that person to be humbled before He can work with that person. Again, Jesus has saved all believers from bondage so he/she can now make their choice to fully serve God or not. The people of Israel were not willing to give their life to take the promise land, but after the 40 years of roaming around in the desert they became willing. We must also come to the point in our belief that we are willing to give our life to receive His promises for us, which is being born again into God’s eternal kingdom.
From God – through me – to you,
Mike Reid
Only Souls With Pure Hearts Will Enter Heaven
God has promised that when we are born again we are given a new heart.
Ezek 36:25-26 - I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you.
God says all of our sinful nature is gone and we are a new creation in Him.
2 Cor 5:17 - Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation ; the old has gone, the new has come!
When we are truly born again we are no longer slaves to sin, but slaves to His righteousness.
Rom 6:18 - You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness. Jesus says he has set us totally free from the bondage of the sinful nature.
John 8:36 - So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.
We must understand that for most of us that call ourselves Christians, we are not really born again yet. Most of us are in the pregnancy stage and we are getting ready to be born again. When God’s grace has purged all of the sinful nature out of our heart and soul, He will give us a new heart filled with only His love and all of our sinful nature will be gone. Then we will truly be able to love God and others like He commands us to.
To be born again, we have to humble ourselves by letting go of all of our pride and selfishness and give every bit of our soul to Him. Only then can anyone come to Him with the faith as a child to be reborn.
God is patient and gives us our whole life to let Him transform us into a pure spiritual being. Only after our heart is made pure, holy, and righteous by God are we acceptable for the gift of eternal life with Him. How long do you think you have left? Remember this is a process for most of us and usually takes some time.
For anyone that has been taught and believes that this total regeneration is not possible, please understand you have been deceived, for the Bible clearly indicates this entire sanctification is possible through the work of the Holy Spirit. It is not only possible; it is required for anyone to have eternal life with God. Our soul must be purged of any sinful nature because God will not allow any unholy thing into His eternal kingdom.
John 3:3 - In reply Jesus declared, "I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again."
I tell you this even though it might be hard to hear, because a lot of us have stopped searching for God’s real truth. We have become complacent with our walk with God because we think we are eternally saved already. We have to stop listening to preachers that are telling us what we want to hear and search for the real truth. God says if we will search, we will find. So I sincerely ask you to search God’s Holy Word. Don’t go to books other than the Bible. Most books other than the Bible will mislead you in some way. The whole truth is in God’s Word. Let God talk to you through His scriptures.
God Bless,
Mike Reid
Ezek 36:25-26 - I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you.
God says all of our sinful nature is gone and we are a new creation in Him.
2 Cor 5:17 - Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation ; the old has gone, the new has come!
When we are truly born again we are no longer slaves to sin, but slaves to His righteousness.
Rom 6:18 - You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness. Jesus says he has set us totally free from the bondage of the sinful nature.
John 8:36 - So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.
We must understand that for most of us that call ourselves Christians, we are not really born again yet. Most of us are in the pregnancy stage and we are getting ready to be born again. When God’s grace has purged all of the sinful nature out of our heart and soul, He will give us a new heart filled with only His love and all of our sinful nature will be gone. Then we will truly be able to love God and others like He commands us to.
To be born again, we have to humble ourselves by letting go of all of our pride and selfishness and give every bit of our soul to Him. Only then can anyone come to Him with the faith as a child to be reborn.
God is patient and gives us our whole life to let Him transform us into a pure spiritual being. Only after our heart is made pure, holy, and righteous by God are we acceptable for the gift of eternal life with Him. How long do you think you have left? Remember this is a process for most of us and usually takes some time.
For anyone that has been taught and believes that this total regeneration is not possible, please understand you have been deceived, for the Bible clearly indicates this entire sanctification is possible through the work of the Holy Spirit. It is not only possible; it is required for anyone to have eternal life with God. Our soul must be purged of any sinful nature because God will not allow any unholy thing into His eternal kingdom.
John 3:3 - In reply Jesus declared, "I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again."
I tell you this even though it might be hard to hear, because a lot of us have stopped searching for God’s real truth. We have become complacent with our walk with God because we think we are eternally saved already. We have to stop listening to preachers that are telling us what we want to hear and search for the real truth. God says if we will search, we will find. So I sincerely ask you to search God’s Holy Word. Don’t go to books other than the Bible. Most books other than the Bible will mislead you in some way. The whole truth is in God’s Word. Let God talk to you through His scriptures.
God Bless,
Mike Reid
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